Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography [Paperback]

Richard Stirling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009

The extraordinary career of Dame Julie Andrews spans more than forty years. Her first film, Mary Poppins, was Disney’s most successful film, and in 1965 The Sound of Music rescued Twentieth Century Fox from bankruptcy. Three years later, Star! almost put the studio back under, and the leading lady of both films fell as spectacularly as she had risen. But Julie Andrews is nothing if not a survivor; and despite many setbacks—including the tragic loss of her singing voice in 1997 after a botched operation—she’s still a performer, recently starring in Shrek and The Princess Diaries. Richard Stirling’s deeply researched biography—based on many years of contact with Julie—is a frank but affectionate portrait of an enduring icon of stage and screen.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

London-based stage/TV/film actor Stirling brings up the house lights to detail the entire life of the performer he has known since 1986. Having previously written about Andrews for the Evening Standard and other publications, he highlights recollections of her associates, in addition to his extensive archival research, plowing through some six decades of reportage and interviews in magazines, newspapers and books. Stirling grabs the reader's attention on the opening pages with a description of Andrews's 1997 Mount Sinai Hospital throat surgery, a normal operation that went tragically wrong: "Her principal trademark, the voice of mountain spring purity, was gone, as astonishingly as it had first appeared." Beginning with her childhood in London during the Blitz and youthful voice lessons, Stirling traces her career from post-WWII performances on BBC Radio and the London stage to her 1954 arrival in America with The Boy Friend. After acclaim for My Fair Lady and Camelot came the caravan of TV and movie roles that continue until the present day with voice work in the Shrek series and last year's Enchanted. The book successfully documents and details the professional and personal peaks of her life. With Andrews's memoir, Home, to be published in April, devoted fans are sure to turn to both. 8-page b&w photo insert not seen by PW. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Julie Andrews is, quite simply, a phenomenon. She has probably brought more joy to more people than any other star of her generation.” —Richard Attenborough

“Stirling charts the life and career of Julie Andrews with a wealth of detail and an agreeably light tone. . . . Stirling adroitly conveys the excitement engendered by her explosive entry into the American consciousness.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A very well-written, gripping account of Andrews’s extraordinary life and career. . . . Full of information that may not be known even to some of Andrews’s staunchest fans.” —Michael Portantiere, TheaterMania.com

 

“An absorbingly extensive study, with glossy photographs and lively quotes bringing the pages alive with the sound of a much-loved musical star.” —Evening Standard (London)

“Intelligent and engrossing.” —Roger Lewis, The Mail on Sunday

“Fans will delight at the loads of pictures and details in this complete biography of Andrews.”—OK! magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312564988
• ISBN-13: 978-0312564988
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As pleasant as the image she presents!, April 13, 2008

By 

Thomas W. Jacobs "tommyj" (Detroit, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Julie Andrews An Intimate Biography (Paperback)

I wanted to know more about Julie Andrews. I adored her as Mary Poppins, loved her in The Sound of Music & was delighted by her comic performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie. I somewhat remember her "falling from grace" so to speak, making some unmemorable films, dissappearing...then suddenly it seems, she's back writing children's books & making successful movies again!

So I really wanted an overview of her entire life and that is why I chose this book by Richard Stirling over HOME which ends about the time that Julie's fame begins.

The book is an engaging, easy read that has generally fulfilled my expectations. It covers Julie's meteoric rise to the heights of fame and the painfully slow slide into a lingering sort of limbo that allowed her to triumphantly hold her head up occassionally but never again made full use of her sunny personality & gorgeous voice.

This book gave me the distinct impression that instead of being "ahead of her time" that unfortunately Julie Andrews showed up perhaps 20 years too late to be fully utilized in the field of musical/comedy films. (...and it teases us with the vehicles proposed for her but never made...) However, it also points to the fact that Julie is full of tenacity & perseverance. Of course, she is still around and that's a good thing.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I regret purchasing this book, May 6, 2008

By 

Tom "Banjoman" (Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography (Hardcover)

I ordered this book because since the 1960's I've adored Julie Andrews. I found here everything I wanted to know about her. But this book is not very "readable".

Mr Stirling often leads the reader down dead end paths - leaves them wondering "Where am I now?" and is often not fun to read. I enjoy a book that flows. This one jerks along like an old truck with a couple of flat tires on a bumpy forest road. Occasionally there's a well written story, but for the most part it's hard to follow and the stories he tells are truncated and with unrelated elements. It's like being in a forest and wondering where the path is. I'd rather have gotten (and will get) my information from other sources.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Andrew's Facts but Stirling Style Lacks Luster, December 31, 2010

By 

Terry A. Benedict-Devine "Terry" (Barnegat, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography (Paperback)

For all Julie Andrews' fans, this book will provide you the basis for what you want to know about her life, before and after her rise to stardom. The necessary information is presented to the reader, however the author's style of writing did not flow easily for me nor did it hold my attention. It took me almost two months to finish reading this book; my diligence in doing so owed only to my devotion and interest in the subject matter. It was only after I was more than three quarters through the book that I found out Julie Andrews has written her own story. I am going to read her autobiography as I feel it will be a much smoother and more enjoyable experience. My advice to those who have not yet read this book but are interested in Julie Andrews' life would be to start with her story written in her own words.