Richard Burton: star. The roaring boy from the Welsh coal valleys who came to sport on the banks of the old Nile, playing great Antony to Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra.
From the West End to Hollywood, from Camelot to Shakespeare, he drank, dazzled and despaired, playing out his life on the public stage. But there was another, quieter, off-stage Richard Burton, a face hidden from the multitude.
Melvyn Bragg, allowed free access to the never-before-revealed Burton private notebooks, and with the cooperation of friends who have never spoken about him before, has brought together the private and public sides for the first time. Rich is the complete Richard Burton: a revelation.
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'Thanks to Melvyn Bragg's wholly admirable book, he will be reborn to many as a lovable, suffering, complex human being'
(Anthony Burgess, Independent )'An impressive achievement which appears destined to become that rare creature, a literary and a popular success'
(Mail on Sunday )'Fascinating...Will be deservedly successful as an honourable record of a man and of a lifetime'
(Maeve Binchy, Irish Times )About the Author
Melvyn Bragg's first novel, FOR WANT OF A NAIL, was published in 1965 and since then his novels have included THE HIRED MAN, for which he won the Time/Life Silver Pen Award, WITHOUT A CITY WALL, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, THE SOLDIER'S RETURN, which won the WHSmith Literary Award, and A SON OF WAR and CROSSING THE LINES, both of which were longlisted for the Booker Prize, and REMEMBER ME.... He has also published several works of non-fiction including THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH, 12 BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD and IN OUR TIME.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Mjshaft
Format:Paperback
This book is one of the best biographies i have read. The only real let down is the style of the author. Mr Bragg tends to tell the reader everything that is going to happen before it actually does. All very well giving us a taste od whats to come but there is a limit.
The true star of this work is Richard Burton himself and his writing within it. Apparently he always wanted to be an author and the journals he wrote were to form the basis of an autobiography. From his own modest work one gets the impression that he was an incrediably well educated man with a gift for languages. Also a fantastic reader polishing off many books in a very short space of time.
I was impressed with the actor i had seen on screen but knew nothing about. It left me wondering if Liz Taylor's life has ever been complete since.....
The true star of this work is Richard Burton himself and his writing within it. Apparently he always wanted to be an author and the journals he wrote were to form the basis of an autobiography. From his own modest work one gets the impression that he was an incrediably well educated man with a gift for languages. Also a fantastic reader polishing off many books in a very short space of time.
I was impressed with the actor i had seen on screen but knew nothing about. It left me wondering if Liz Taylor's life has ever been complete since.....
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you ask me Richard Burton is one of the finest actors ever to grace stage or screen but he seems to have been largely forgotten about as an actor and best remebered for his private life....
Indeed what made him a must see on the screen was in part due to the off screen image but how much of that was really him..Here in this book we find out.....
Melvin Bragg wrote this only a few years after Burton sadly passed away in 1984 so memories were still fresh and rose tinted views really hadn't come into effect to much....
The book offers us the early life ,the first footsteps onto the stage,the film career,Hollywood,Liz,life after liz and sadly the aftermath of his death...
Every aspect of his life is represented well by Bragg,,i must say myself i really enjoyed the 1950's..Here you can get a taste for the theartre life back then and the fire which Burton had in him to be the best.
The main focus of the book though is the acess Bragg had to Burtons's diaries...What a rare insight we have into the world only a few of us will ever hget to live...It is wonderful,sad,funny and touching to read.
I bought this book 4 years ago and i always go back and read it once a year...I can't recommend the book enough and would love it to come out again ..perhaps with a new chapter on how Burton is remembered today... A reaprasing of his work is long overdue...
Indeed what made him a must see on the screen was in part due to the off screen image but how much of that was really him..Here in this book we find out.....
Melvin Bragg wrote this only a few years after Burton sadly passed away in 1984 so memories were still fresh and rose tinted views really hadn't come into effect to much....
The book offers us the early life ,the first footsteps onto the stage,the film career,Hollywood,Liz,life after liz and sadly the aftermath of his death...
Every aspect of his life is represented well by Bragg,,i must say myself i really enjoyed the 1950's..Here you can get a taste for the theartre life back then and the fire which Burton had in him to be the best.
The main focus of the book though is the acess Bragg had to Burtons's diaries...What a rare insight we have into the world only a few of us will ever hget to live...It is wonderful,sad,funny and touching to read.
I bought this book 4 years ago and i always go back and read it once a year...I can't recommend the book enough and would love it to come out again ..perhaps with a new chapter on how Burton is remembered today... A reaprasing of his work is long overdue...
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Maggie
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Still reading but nearly there. An excellent book and Mr Bragg has shown what an exceedingly good writer he is. It is a shame Mr Burton is no longer with us, I have certainly seen him in a new light - such a clever man in his own right and admired by many, shame the drink got in the way too often and he certainly adored Ms Taylor. I never new she suffered so much in her younger life too. I recommend this book to all.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Rush job
The standard of English in this book is astonishingly poor. I would have expected more from an author who often gives quite a good account of himself on Radio 4.
Published 14 days ago by Giles Penfold
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read
The book had been well used, but for the price you could not complain but as a read was excellent
Published 1 month ago by janice elaine charles
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rich the life of Richard Burton.
received this book today by courier post so pleased with it .. Richard Burton is a truly extraordinary chap I greatly admire him I too have family that come from wales and welsh... Read more
Published 2 months ago by MS PINK FLUFF
1.0 out of 5 stars
An Insult to ichard Burton
I found this book to be quite an insult to Burton. I found it was sycophantic and smarmy. Mr Bragg's enthusiasm seemed to me to be rather contrived.
Published 2 months ago by talker
3.0 out of 5 stars
More detachment and plain speaking needed
Richard Burton was a brilliant actor who drank and/or smoked himself to death at the early age of 58. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Friend of Dorothy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poor Richard Burton - Trapped in a Elizabeth Taylor's Web
I've read this book several times and always found Burton's own journals and notebooks more interesting than Bragg's rather plodding narrative with its cliché references to... Read more
Published 10 months ago by John Fitzpatrick
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine biography of a supreme artist and tortured soul
As a long time fan of that Welsh baritone voice and all round artistic genius of Richard Burton I found this book a compelling read. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Neil Kernohan
5.0 out of 5 stars
mabon
Great service received less than 24 hours after ordering. Book in excellent condition. Melvyn Bragg's account of Richard Burton is a detailed and fascinating account of this... Read more
Published 15 months ago by mabon
3.0 out of 5 stars
Never judge a book by its cover...
Probably my mistake, but when I bought the book, even knowing it was paperback, I hadn't expected to receive a sort of 1970s American airport bookshop offering. Read more
Published on 26 April 2011 by Elizabeth
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fair Biography , not suitable for everyone
Before Buying this biography on amzon I looked at the other reviews.The reviews made my decision to buy this biograpy , but i must admit that the book did not live up to my... Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2010 by OceanRebekah
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