|
Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn |  | Author: Donald Spoto
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $0.65
as of 9/9/2010 08:39 EDT details
You Save: $14.35 (96%)
New (27) Used (32) from $0.65
Seller: dcgoodwill
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 198957
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0307237591
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.43028092
EAN: 9780307237590
ASIN: 0307237591
Publication Date: October 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Her name is synonymous with elegance, style and grace. Over the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn captured hearts around the world and created a public image that stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy. With unprecedented access to studio archives, friends and colleagues who knew and loved Audrey, bestselling author Donald Spoto provides an intimate and moving account of this beautiful, elusive and talented woman.
Tracing her astonishing rise to stardom, from her harrowing childhood in Nazi-controlled Holland during World War II to her years as a struggling ballet dancer in London and her Tony Award–winning Broadway debut in Gigi, Spoto illuminates the origins of Audrey’s tenacious spirit and fiercely passionate nature.
She would go on to star in some of the most popular movies of the twentieth century, including Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, The Nun’s Story, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady. A friend and inspiration to renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey emerged as a fashion icon as well as a film legend, her influence on women’s fashion virtually unparalleled to this day.
But behind the glamorous public persona, Audrey Hepburn was both a different and a deeper person and a woman who craved love and affection. Donald Spoto offers remarkable insights into her professional and personal relationships with her two husbands, and with celebrities such as Gregory Peck, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Robert Anderson, Cary Grant, Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney and Ben Gazzara. The turbulent romances of her youth, her profound sympathy for the plight of hungry children, and the thrills and terrors of motherhood prepared Audrey for the final chapter in her life, as she devoted herself entirely to the charity efforts of an organization that had once come to her rescue at the end of the war: UNICEF.
Donald Spoto has written a poignant, funny and deeply moving biography of an unforgettable woman. At last, Enchantment reveals the private Audrey Hepburn—and invites readers to fall in love with her all over again.
“She was as funny as she was beautiful. She was a magical combination of high chic and high spirits.” —Gregory Peck
“In spite of her fragile appearance, she’s like steel.” —Cary Grant
“Audrey was known for something which has disappeared, and that is elegance, grace and manners . . . God kissed her on the cheek, and there she was.” —Billy Wilder
“There is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like Audrey Hepburn.” —Hubert de Givenchy
“Her magnetism was so extraordinary that everyone wanted to be close to her. It was as if she placed a glass barrier between herself and the world. You couldn’t get behind it easily. It made her remarkably attractive.” —Stanley Donen
“She has authentic charm. Most people simply have nice manners.” —Alfred Lunt
From the Hardcover edition.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
Intelligent and respectful biography July 8, 2010
Indian Prairie Public Library (Darien, IL)
I enjoyed listening to this intelligent and respectful biography of the elegant actress who charmed us with performances in many classic movies, including her first US film, Roman Holiday, for which she won an Oscar. We learn about her difficult life during WWII, and there is the expected "dish" about her romantic life, but it doesn't come across as a tell-all. My only complaint: the narrative moves too quickly through the important work she did with UNICEF and the illness that took her life.
Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn June 10, 2010
Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn was a very good read, although kind of gossipy. I liked most of it, but it got boring in some places. I'm sure Donald Spoto felt he was being respectful, however i dont think it is. in my opinion, Spoto went a little to far into her personal life. I would not recomend this book to anyone, unless you looking for celebrity dirt,
Audrey Hepburn's Life in Great Detail February 9, 2010
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Enchantment (The Life of Audrey Hepburn) by: Donald Spoto was a very detailed description of Hepburn's life. The book starts off by giving the background of her parent's life and struggles, and leads into her birth; it then goes on to say how Hepburn started off as a ballet dancer, but later lost that talent because of the Great Depression. It shows that having failed at dancing is what lead Hepburn into the acting business. After going through her Hollywood career it concludes by telling about the charity work she did later in her life with the UNICEF foundation and leads into her struggle with death.
My rating for this book (on a scale form 1-10) would be a 6 or 7. In the book Spoto tends to go into to much detail, instead of getting straight to the event that was happening. With this great detail causes some suspicion as to if all of this information is entirely true. Often times I would get lost in the detail and have to skim back over to see what event he was talking about.
Although Spoto went overboard with the detail, the story line was well thought-out. It touched on just about every aspect of Hepburn's life and highlighted all of her Hollywood films. I was often times intrigued by her harsh childhood, her Hollywood career, and the charity work she did with the UNICEF foundation.
Spoto did do a nice job of highlighting how elegant and inspiring Audrey Hepburn truly was. He made an effort to paint her in a good life and make each aspect of her life interesting.
If you are the type of person who enjoys detailed biographies then you would also enjoy reading, Audrey: Her Real Story by: Alexandra Walker. This book gives a great description of Hepburn's life, but in more of her own words rather than the author's.
 Perfect! June 25, 2009
A. Smale (Pittsburgh)
I just love this book! I'd recommend it to anyone interested in a true Queen, very classy lady and a very private woman!
 A good starter biography, but too speculative January 10, 2009
The Thinker (Chicago, IL USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Here is the latest biography on Audrey Hepburn, who continually fascinates people long after her death, and the main attraction for this book is a "new affair" discovered by Spoto with his friend Mr. Anderson. Let's get it straight now: none of the other biographies have mentioned the affair, and considering how Mr. Anderson described their affair, you would think the crew members, family members, or someone else than Mr. Anderson would have known about this. The fact that he "described" the affair in his book After, and how Spoto eagerly seems to agree with the vague description, is nothing more than a fantasy that Spoto seems to agree with only to sell his books. Since Audrey is not able to defend herself, we will never know the truth.
As for the other parts of the biography, Spoto has done his research, and you get a good picture of what her life was, her impact upon her peers and society, and the importance of others to her. However, Spoto is not objective in his analysis of the subject; Barry Paris does a much better job in this aspect. I never like it when the biographer speculates too much and focuses more on gossip and hearsay than actual facts. Spoto seems to want his impress upon his readers that his subjective speculations are the truth, when actually he had no first-hand experience of her life.
I recommend to read Alexander Walker's and especially Barry Paris' biographies if you really want to know what the true Audrey was like, not the mental picture that Spoto has got stuck in his head.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
Proud member of the Celebrity Pro Network. Make sure you check out these other great sites:
Lyrics Database
Celebrity Blog
Celebrity Thing
Celebrity PC
Latest Celebrity Photos
Web Portal
Travel Photos
Quotes
Flash Games
|
Is there a better
price available?
Find out:
|
|
|
|
