Customer Reviews

Audrey Hepburn, Elegant Spirit

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If there is a polar opposite to Christina Crawford's scathing poor-me memoir, Mommie Dearest, it has to be this loving tribute to Audrey Hepburn from her eldest son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Rather than being an exhaustive biography on the legendary film star (and enough of those exist anyway), it is more a very attractive coffee table book with remembrances from her colleagues, family friends and most importantly, Ferrer himself. It is a testament to Hepburn that all these books, especially this one, have been nothing less than respectful and at times downright reverential. There is no getting around the fact that she was well loved by those closest around her and certainly by her fans, me included. That she comes across as such a giving person merely validates what we all want to believe about her, and this becomes especially clear in Ferrer's account of her later years making goodwill trips to Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Somalia on behalf of UNICEF.

While as a fan, I was disappointed about her long absences from films from the late sixties until her death in 1993, Ferrer makes it clear how important motherhood was to her and how imperative it was for her to stay at home with her sons during those years. Just from the treasure trove of family photos, this book clearly shows that her dedication to them was and continues to be reciprocated. The perspective of this book is understandably biased but fresh, and obviously Ferrer's access to his mother's personal belongings - family snapshots, paintings and drawings done by her, even her passports - builds an intimate story. I have to admit I was taken aback by the more familiar photos of Hepburn during her Hollywood glory years (especially the glamorous Cecil Beaton pictures) and amazed at how lovely she continued to look in the professional photos taken a year or so before her death. Not surprisingly, the most moving part is Ferrer's account of her final weeks when she took one last flight from California to what looks to be a most idyllic place, her home La Paisible in Switzerland. This should be the final word about her, but that is unlikely as she continues to fascinate. Somewhere Joan Crawford must be eating her heart out.