Bette & Joan - The Divine Feud [Hardcover]

Shaun Considine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1989

Explosive, exhaustive and unsparing, the inside, tell-all story of the celebrated, long-term feud of Hollywood's two greatest screen legends, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If equally matched adversaries are bound to create sparks and flames of conflict, then Bette Davis and the late Joan Crawford should offer a good battle. But for three quarters of the book, a series of very brief chapters (each a pastiche of racy quotes from such authorities as Photoplay and gossip columnist Louella Parsons), the two barely make contact. Considine ( Barbra Streisand ) attempts to build a sense of impending, fated enmity between them, but when the screenstars finally meet, it's anticlimactic. The book follows them from birth on divergent paths to glory--Crawford's via the proverbial casting couch, Davis's through hard-nosed talent. Unmistakably alike, they marry many times, receive the backlash of vindictive children and end up as "reclusive alcoholics." Because of the book's reliance on hearsay, gossip overwhelms "truth"; we understand neither Crawford's desperation to be loved nor Davis's to be despised. This is a dull "Peeping Tom" book, lacking in essential sympathy and knowledge. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Although the author claims to have researched this book for 14 years, he only interviewed Crawford and Davis each once. Many of the references are rather casually cited by scholarly standards. Given this, and the fact that both the great actress (Bette) and the great movie star (Joan) had selective memories, the book is less than satisfying. But it is fun, superficial reading, full of clever quotes (Bette gets in lots of good cracks at Joan), views of a bygone Hollywood, additional portraits of the two driven, competitive women, and an extensive bibliography.
- Rebecca Sturm Kelm, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 451 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (November 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052524770X
• ISBN-13: 978-0525247708
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully trashy, campy, and fun...., January 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bette & Joan - The Divine Feud (Hardcover)

This is a wonderfully trashy book that focuses on the careers and lives of the great Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. It's by far the best book on either of them. Great book for anyone with a good sense of camp who enjoys these great actresses!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantabulous Gorgeousness!, February 16, 2004

By 

Review Lover "ReviewLover" (At a place...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud (Paperback)

Oh, my, a book chronicling the legendary feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford! The same feud that inspired such quotes as 'Hollywood's first case of syphillis, I wouldn;t sit on her toilet' (Bette on Joan) and 'Some would call it Art. I would call it camouflage' (Joan on Bette's makeup)! A book chronicling not only the face-to-face fights but also the lives of the two most enduring legends of the Hollywood Machine??

Sign me up!!

When I got my hands on this book, I had expected it to be a sycophantically-observed tirade on Who Did What To Whom (A bit like Andrew Morton's Madonna, or Christina Crawford's Mommie Dearest), but happily Sean Considine has more than enough intelligence and talent not to allow this to happen. A huge, absorbing book, it literally takes each of these Uber-Divas in turn, and, chapter by chapter, charts their meteoric rise from very different beginnings to Hollywood Royalty-status, right to the lonely end of Ms. Crawford (she died first). Included are several wonderful asides about certain movies, and light is shed on some of the more over-exaggerated aspects of the stars' lives (such as Joan's children and Bette's fracas with Warner Bros). First-hand interviews with each of the stars preface the book, and I challenge anyone who is a fan not to find something new in here (for example, did you know that Joan was supposed to play Christopher Reeve's mother in Superman? Except she died before the movie casting people found out?).

Considine is clearly a fan of both women, but does a commendable job of keeping commentary unbiased and even, and, happily, gives it a hefty dose of dry observational humour, to boot. It's a meandering, hugely-detailed style of writing, and one, while not perhaps best suited to a stereotypical biography, here it works better than anything else could have. We know already pretty much everything we can know about these two women, and thanks to Considine's wit and superior talent as a biographer, we re-read it without being bored.

Photos are nothing special (though there are some lovely shots of young Bette, who, despite popular opinion, was a very beautiful young woman), but that's secondary when a story is so absorbing and well-told. Curl up with a hefty glass of vodka, send the children to bed (or give them to Carol-Anne to tie up, whatever :-), and enjoy this intelligently-told, totally engrossing story.

Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Divine Feud is a divine book!, July 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bette & Joan - The Divine Feud (Hardcover)

This book is the most intensely entertaining piece written about the very eccentric and hostile relationship between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that I have ever read. As for the facts of the material, I would question the validity of some of the "truths" poured forth by this particular book. Overall it is a fun read and highly reccomended for those who are interested in the glitter and scandals of the Golden Era of film.