Customer Reviews

Grace Kelly: A life in pictures

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Jenny Curtis' "Grace Kelly: A Life in Pictures" is a must for Grace fans. Lovely reproductions of some of Kelly's most enchanting photos fill the book. It is a pleasant addition to any collection, and it is exactly what it is entitled, a life in pictures...nothing more and yet, nothing less.

I have admired Grace Kelly all my life and this is by far the most beautiful book about her. The pictures are all stunning, and truly depict what a glamourous and classy woman she was. There is not a great deal of information - or pictures - of Grace, and this compilation is simply wonderful to look at. Definately recommended for any fan.

There are far too few books available about Grace Kelly, but this is the cream of the crop. Not only is it bargain priced, it has over 120 high quality photos covering all aspects of her life, from her childhood to her tragic death. Despite her rather short film career, she'll always be remembered for her great performances in classics like "High Noon", "High Society", "Dial M for Murder", "Rear Window", "To Catch a Thief", and especially her oscar-winning role in "The Country Girl". Just when she was America's leading lady she threw her career away for a marriage to Prince Rainer of Monaco. Her charm, elegance, and incredible beauty captured the hearts of people all over the world. This book is a definite must-have for all her fans whose hearts are still captured!

Lovely pictures and interesting text make this book well worth buying. It showcases Grace's life from early childhood to her untimely death.

I thought this was a wonderful detailed account of a beautiful actress' life for a Grace Kelly fan. This book was well put together and I love to just flip through it over and over because I get something new out of it everytime.

Along with Ann-Margret, I firmly believe Grace Kelly is the most beautiful woman to ever grace the silver screen. As a kid, I had a huge crush on her, and was sad to learn she was dead (a scenario similar to The Who song "Pictures Of Lily", but that's a whole differnt story). YHowever, I was still transfixed at how beautiful she was, and I bought this book looking for great photos of her.

This book does not disappoint. The photos in this book paint a far more entetaining and accurate portrait of the life of this beautiful and talented woman who became a princess who devoted her life to charity. The photos in this book are breathtaking. It's sad to read this book, not only because you'll be reminded of her tragic death in 1982, but also because it you'll remember who elegant and classy Grace was, and then you'll remeber how trashy all the "beauties" of modern Hollywood are, and you'll be reminded of the steap decline the entertainment industry today. Even so, a defintite must have.

THIS BOOK, "GRACE KELLY, A LIFE IN PICTURES", BY JENNY CURTIS, (not to be confused with another excellent book, on the same subject, with the exact same title, but by a different author), is a feast for the

eyes for anyone -- but a true banquet for any Princess Grace/Grace

Kelly fan! The ONLY criticism I have of this book is that it doesn't have enough pictures in it -- well, at least not enough pictures to

satisfy ME, (but I must here admit that my appetite for pictures of, and information about, Pss. Grace remains insatiable! : ) Like many

a "Minerva Cheevy", (the feminine equivalent of "Miniver Cheevy", the title-character of a short, but very descriptive poem, by Edward Arlington Robinson, which alliterates the problems faced by most hopeless romantics), I have finally admitted to myself that I am a complete, and total Grace Kelly fan -- and probably always have been, and will always be such a fan. That face! That grace(!) That lady-like, but definitely NON-stuffy coolness! That obvious aire of having grown up amidst wealth and good manners! That aire of intelligence and curiousity which, whilst acknowledging that there are indeed difficulties in the human condition, seemed to be positive that good could, and more importantly, would, usually triumph in the end. A person who brought, (and who brings), sunshine into any room where she lived -- or which even has a picture of her in it! A person who readily spoke to anyone, of any station in life, and whilst so speaking, immediately broke down any barriers which might be between them, and put the person so favoured immediately and totally at ease! She was aristocratic -- but definitely NOT a snob, (which actually means, "sine nobility", or "WITHOUT nobility", anyway!) Interested in life, and always realistically optimistic, Grace Kelly was a, "star amongst stars", even before she became a genuine Royal Princess. Like Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Jimmy Stewart, (all of with whom she acted), and Katherine Hepburn, and Gregory Peck, (with whom she did not have a chance to act), Grace Kelly was a true, genuine, "super-star", perhaps even before the term was coined. Poised, yet humanly vulernable, she was etherially beautiful, but with quite normal, un-exaggerated features. (Her eyes were NOT extraordinarily huge, her mouth NOT extraordinarly large -- or small. In fact, in another excellent book, "Grace Kelly", in the "Movie Icon" series, she was referred to as showing the average woman that she, too, could be glamourous. This, combined with an integral honesty, a spirit of co-operation, talent for acting, singing AND dancing, and, (as Ayn Rand described her heroine, Dagny Taggert in "The Fountainhead"), also possessed of all the delicacy, (but also the strength), of a steel spring -- partially explains much of her appeal.....

The pictures in this wonderful book are many and varied. All, for the sake of clarity and continuity, are either in black and white or in brownish sepia colour. They are also LARGE enough for the viewer to focus on details, difficult to do when viewing smaller pictures.

I have not had the chance, myself, to see too many books or pictures on or about Princess Grace -- but there are many pictures here that I have seen nowhere else. Outstanding amongst them is a thoughtful-looking studio publicity shot for, "High Noon", taken in 1954, on page 3, which -- astonishingly -- shows a much-more mature Grace than might be expected, and which -- with just a bit of imagination filling in some white hair, a longer face, and perhaps just a few slight, almost unnoticable wrinkles -- shows what this still quite-beautiful woman might have looked like, had she reached the age of 80 or 90! On page 30, is a picture of Grace dining with Spencer Tracy at an MGN dinner in 1954. The mutual respect of both actors for each other is obvious, although Spencer Tracy was yet another actor with whom she did not have a chance to act. A delightful shot of Grace

BEHIND the camera, during the filming of, 'GREEN FIRE', is on page 41. On page 56, Grace is seen with an obviously creative and hard-working, (but sadly un-named) French artisan. and -- despite the difference in his overalls and her sophisticated city clothing -- there is an almost child-like delight in Grace's face, as she focuses on man's talents, and the beautiful object they are bringing forth from his potter's wheel....

The second part of the book is devoted to "Princess Grace". Along with the often-seen, (but always breath-takingly beautiful!), pictures of her pre-wedding trip to Monaco, and the wonderful, glorious wedding itself, are pictures, (on page 79), of an obviously

"expecting", Grace, next to her equally obviously-proud husband,

and a wonderful photo, (on page 81), which shows Grace sitting, with the infant Prince Albert in her arms, as Prince Rainier stands, smiling and leaning casually behind her chair, and Princess Caroline stands to the side. This remarkable photograph, to me, straddles the "formal-informal" line, because, though it is obviously posed, and taken in a formal room in the palace, the smiles of Prince Rainier

are totally natural and unforced: one can easily see that this is a happy, warm home and family, royal or not! A picture on page 85 shows Princess Grace with Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, George

Kennedy, Eva Renzi, and director Delbert Mann, on the set of the movie, "Jolly Pink Jungle", in 1967. As the caption explains, Princess Grace never forgot her past, and was glad to show it to her

children....

On page 93, in the last section, "Conclusion", is a full page photo of Princess Grace, doing a poetry reading in 1980, to raise funds for the Princess Grace Foundation, which provides monies for the arts. In her face, as she performs for the audience, one can see a thoughtfulness and wistfulness, (perhaps she is remembering past acting experiences), and, somehow, (maybe due to the stage-lighting, as this is obviously a "reality"-type photo), she bares, (at least to me), the slightest of resemblances to what Barbara Walters looked like, twenty years before!

On the last pages, are a. "Filmography", of both Grace's television and film roles. (One would like to say this is complete filmography -- but somehow, my own favourite Grace Kelly TV-role, in the magical

play, "Berkshire Square", is not listed. Or perhaps it is just listed under a different name?) On the same page is a select Bibliography of five selected books. A complete "Index", along with "Photography Credits", appears on the very last pages of this book.

All in all, there are 120 photos in this large-format, well-bound, soft-covered book. Despite its size, it is light and easy to carry,

and the paper is of the very best kind. The selection of photos is superb, as is, (as I have said), the very large size of the pictures.

Some of these pictures are, I hazard to guess, to be seen in few, if any, other books on the Princess. Now, 120 pictures is definitely a great many picutres -- but of course, Grace Kelly/Princess Grace fans such as myself always wish to see MORE pictures! A book this light to carry could, I feel, have between 20 to 30 more pages, (also filled with pictures!), without risking the portability of this wonderful book. Perhaps a second volume could be planned?

The captions, and "Introduction" and "Conclusion" essays in this book, give more depth and knowledge to the photographs within. The last paragraph of the "Conclusion" essay, sums up, in achingly true language, sums up Grace's personality and appeal even more:

"....Far from being just a pretty face, Grace brought a sense of style and class to everything she did. She was well-respected and adored, both as an actress and a royal. She was the champion of motherhood, the champion of several causes, and an international presence. The white gloves she wore as a young actress in New York were symbolic of the proper image she put forth to the public. They had a kind of quirky classiness, even in the 1950s, but they could easily be slipped off and set aside, like the public facade, when

the private Grace wanted to come out and tell a joke, or enjoy

her favourite treats, hamburgers and pink champagne."

HAMBURGERS AND PINK CHAMPAGNE! Beauty, composure, joy in life,

and helping others -- THAT was the real Princess Grace -- elegantly

and realistically portrayed in this wonderful book of varied

pictures, captions, and text. The world we live in today, at the

beginning of the 21st century, is sadly filled with the new

"bratty" type of movie stars, the increased demolition of old,

cherished buildings, wild, toneless, loud music, the sad un-mask-

ing of politicians without morals or compassion, and the masquer-

ading of such things as $200 torn overalls as "fashion" -- to

name but a very few disturbing things in the world today. Now,

perhaps more than ever before, more people need to know about

the REAL Princess Grace. She lived not too many years ago,

after all, and that makes her more contemporary than many

another good example. Princess Grace -- with her coolness and

regality, yet also with her optimistic, down-to-earth, optimis-

tic and traditional values, her sense of fun, her intelligence

and her sense of wonder and delight --will live forever in the

hearts of those who cherish beauty, goodness, kindness, happy

families, artistic pursuits, and helping others --and want to

share these values, as Princess Grace did. This book happily

keeps her life, her image and her values, delightfully, and

wonderfully, alive!

The order was shipped very quickly which was great. However, the condition of the cover jacket was not as described. If I knew the book was in this condition I would have never bought it. It is not worth it for me to pay the shipping, take the time and return the book.