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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Juvenilely written, August 4, 2005
This book has the feel it was written by a middle school student. While I applaud the author's efforts to get a book written about Joan Fontaine, this is a mess. It has no consistency; he jumps from when Fontaine and her sister, Olivia deHavilland, were children, to a chapter on when they were competitors for the 1941 Best Actress Oscar and back again. Also, he mentions KathErine Hepburn several times; being a longtime Hollywood correspondent, surely he knows Miss Hepburn spelled her name KathArine, not KathErine.
A glaring thing the author points out is Olivia snubbed Joan in 1950 when she won her "The Heiress" Oscar. That snub was in 1947, when Olivia won for "To Each His Own." Apparently the author didn't check various Oscar histories. Also, one time he calls the sisters' father, William de Havilland, when it was Walter de Havilland. He also mentions that Jennifer Jones beat Joan for the 1943 Oscar and the author aludes that Joan was nominated for "This Above All," when in fact, her 1943 nomination was for "The Constant Nymph," a film he obviously hasn't seen. Also, why does he capitalize the term 'American Classic' when referring to "Rebecca"?
The only saving virtue of this SLIM, SLIM book is the photos. Joan must have autographed them for the author as her autograph appears on almost every one, but while we've seen the most of them before, it's a nice addition. The photo part is the majority of the book.
The author's grammar and English structure are horrible. Short cut-off sentences, nothing flows like a good narrative should. He also only appears to have seen a handful of Joan's pictures, notably "Rebecca" and "Suspicion."
Nothing here new on the continuing rivalary between these two actresses, but it's worth having for the photos. Don't expect much from the narrative, it'll leave you wanting.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Hack writer makes $$ off a great star's kindnesses!, July 29, 2005
When I first read an excerpt from this so-called "book," it was in the pages of a notorious supermarket tabloid. I knew then and there that "Letters From a Known Woman" would be a gossip fest thinly disguised as a "loving tribute." Author Garrett rehashes nasty and tiresome Hollywood lore about both deHavilland sisters (Joan and Olivia), writing in such a rabid, frothing at the mouth tone that I could literally hear the chortle in his voice. There's nothing new here--we've heard and read it all before. Oooo, Joan and Olivia had a feud. Horrors! Joan and Olivia are competitive with one another! How shocking! Olivia was jealous when Joan won the Academy Award before she did! What a revelation! Anyone familiar with history of Hollywood's golden age already knows this stuff. It's been documented more thoroughly elsewhere, including Joan's own autobiography "No Bed of Roses" (1978). And please, don't delude yourself into thinking "Letters" contains actual revelations from Joan Fontaine herself. Most of the missives are thank you notes for Garrett's avalanche of butt-kissing gifts. I can only imagine her shock if she ever lays eyes on Garrett's chintzy hatchet job--I certainly wouldn't want to be in his shoes at that moment! And as for the glowing reviews here, I suspect most of them were written by friends and/or associates of Mr. Garrett...or maybe even by the author himself, utilizing pseudonyms. If Lightfoot is indeed a publicist, he knows a little something about priming the PR pump. I should also point out that "Letter" is actually only a very filmsy 45 pages of written copy, copy that is rife with misspellings, typographical errors, and mistakes. You'd think a "tribute" would be done accurately, right? That the author would actually do research on the subject? Well, think again. Take my advice: save your money and buy a good Joan Fontaine movie on DVD. Something like "Rebecca" or "Suspicion" or "The Witches." At least, you'll be enjoying the real deal.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Give me my money back!!!, August 1, 2005
I've been a Joan Fontaine fan since I was a little girl, so I usually read everything and anything I can on her. A friend of mine told me about LETTERS FROM A KNOWN WOMAN, so I picked it up, thinking "wow, a new book on Joan! Five pages into the book, I realized I'd made a very BIG mistake--this is a bunch of garbage! I could've written something just as good and a whole lot more interesting by cutting and pasting from several Internet sources, which is probably what this Tommy character did. I thought it was going to be full of letters from Joan Fontaine. Another big mistake! There are letters, all right. FORM LETTERS! The pictures are miscaptioned, the papers cheap and thin, and the book itself is only a few pages long! How can he advertise it as "100+ pages?!" What nerve! I demand my money back, Garrett! I definitely feel ripped-off. And it surprised the heck out of me when I slogged through the wonderful reviews here. Did these people actually BUY AND READ this book? I don't think so. Either they're completely whacko, or Garrett put them up to writing positive reviews. Don't be duped like I was. Keep your money!
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