Customer Reviews

Letters From A Known Woman: Joan Fontaine

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

What a complete waste of money. The author constantly repeats himself with the same stories we have already heard years ago. He misspells names, including Joan's mother's name...what research was done for this book? He even repeats photos in the book. Did anyone proof this book before it was published? The so called "letters" from Joan are short thank you notes for the gifts he sent. There is nothing personal about them. This book is overpriced to begin with, but when you see that it's 45 pages of old stories rehashed, you will be kicking yourself for spending the $. This is one book to avoid. If you want to read about Joan Fontaine or her sister Olivia de Havilland, buy Joan's book. It can be found used for under $5.00. Or wait for Olivia's own autobiography to come out. Don't waste your time with this trash.

This book, shall I call it a `book'?? ...is clearly a cheap imitation of writing skills, lack of proof reading (numerous misspellings, incorrect punctuations, poor grammar, incorrect FACTS, mis-matched captions with photos, and mal-aligned deductions). A re-hash of the relationship of the de Havilland sisters, Olivia and Joan. If you want to read about this subject, get Joan Fontaine's autobiography, `NO BED OF ROSES', which is wonderfully written, tempered with humor, wit, honesty, heart, and FACTS, from the lady herself! Or perhaps, if Olivia writes her book...that would be a great read!

The book may have been worth the cost IF the photos had been printed on photo stock paper or at least an improved quality of paper, and the scans of the photos had been MUCH better! The scan quality is LOUSEY!!!

One can understand the mal-aligned deductions once you read `Letters From The Known Woman', which consists of "Thank You" notes from a polite, gracious lady for gifts, like candles. It's VERY obvious the author did VERY LITTLE research for facts or any other information on the de Havilland sisters. The reader can understand why the writing is so lacking, since the basis of this book is "Thank You" notes....

I can say the RIGHT publishing company was chosen....WASTELAND is RIGHT!

Don't waste your money on this....If this subject interests you, buy Joan Fontaine's autobiography, 'NO BED OF ROSES'. It's a great read and is much less in cost!

As other people have already written, this book provides the reader with no new information about Joan Fontaine. That in itself, is a major disappointment. I really feel that she deserves better. Other books have been written on the subject and they shed more light on Ms. Fontaine and her life. The book does not go in chronological order, or any order for that matter. Actually, it is a jumbled mess as far as that is concerned. Any of this information could have come from a magazine article or something like that. There just isn't that much information in this book. This book appears as though it was thrown together in an hour, and no one bothered to check and make sure that it made any sense at all.

However, I have to add that this book has wonderful pictures. If you are going to buy this book, this is the reason to buy it. Actually, i would give this book five stars for the pictures. Joan Fontaine was one of the most beautiful and photogenic stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. At least the pictures do her justice. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the book.

This book has got to be the worst example of a biography ever! In fact, it does not deserve to be called a biography. The author has rehashed old information and most of it is totally inaccurate and certainly not researched. There are many spelling errors and in the end, Joan Fontaine remains an unknown woman, at least to the author and the readers of this trash. For someone who buys this book looking for an insight into the great star of the golden age of cinema, disappointment will be theirs. In you want to read a literate. well-written account of Miss Fontaine's life seek out her delightful and highly readable autobiography "No Bed of Roses." I hope Miss Fontaine does not read this "account" of her life! Miss Joan Fontaine, a magnificent actress, deserves much, much better than this unauthorized "Letters from a Known Woman."

This very slim (and not particularly well-written) book which is advertised as a "biography of Joan Fontaine" has only 41 pages of text, 3 pages of filmography and some 85 pages of pictures of Miss Fontaine. How can one cover the life of a legendary actress such as Joan Fontaine, who is approaching her 88th birthday, in only 41 pages? The fact is it can't be done and Mr. Garrett just skims the surface. The author does cover in some detail the lack of support and affection from her mother, Lilian Fontaine, which was in stark contrast to Mrs. Fontaine's support for Olivia and her career. The success Joan Fontaine made in Hollywood was almost entirely by her own determination, ambition, and talent with little or no support from her mother or her sister. A few other details are reported truthfully but in such a disjointed manner that the reader is left with a confusing picture as to when these events occurred. Totally false (and heartbreakingly unfair to Joan) is his account of Joan and her mother's memorial service. I have been a fan of Miss Fontaine since I watched her films with my mother starting when I was about eight years old. Since then I have read everything I could about her including the only accurate account of her life, her autobiography "No Bed of Roses" (1978) and would advise people who are considering purchasing Mr. Garrett's book to use their money to purchase a used copy of Joan Fontaine's autobiography instead.

I'm glad that I borrowed this book instead of wasting my money on it. The writer obviously did not do any research or he would know the very basics on Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland. Such as, Joan's middle name. It is de Beauvoir not Beauvoir and she is not two years younger than Olivia, she is one year and three months younger. It's all in Joan's autobiography - you might want to read it. If Olivia is still alive in 2009 for the 70th anniversary of `Gone With The Wind' she will be 93 not 92. Joan was doing a play not a movie when her mother passed away. I've come to the conclusion that the writer doesn't really know anything about Joan or her family. He is just an obsessed fan and so-called writer using this book to further his obsession. Why do I say `obsessed' well in Chapter 12, Letters From A Known Woman (which really should be titled `Thank You Notes From An Extremely Gracious Woman Who Really Wants To Be Left Alone'), Joan clearly stated that she no longer wanted any gifts especially candles but the writer couldn't grant her that wish. It's no wonder why she is no longer answering fan mail. I do believe that this so-called writer ruined the relationship between Joan and her fans with all of his nonsensical gifts and a book that is nothing but mixed up tabloid trash. The only thing that may have given this book a chance are the photos but the writer didn't even get that right with not having them printed on satin paper. All of what could have been beautiful photos came out with poor quality which fits the very essence of this book - tacky. The captions are mixed up with a horrible spelling error and one photo is printed twice. So in a nutshell, don't waste your money or your time. If you want to know about Joan Fontaine, read her book `No Bed Of Roses'. Joan knows her story and she is a wonderful writer.

Of no consequence is this slight volumn, only 45 pages, by Tommy Garrett about Miss Fontaine. The book is full of grammatical errors, misspelt words and many inaccuracies. He does not know the difference between who or whom, spells Lilian with a double L, does not know how to address a knight or baronet, most annoyingly calling Sir Cedric Hardwick, Sir Hardwick; Sir is affixed to the christian name or the entire name, not the surname.

Joan Fontaine did attend the memorial service for her mother in 1975. She had to make very clear to the executor, Mrs. Reg Loftus, that the date of the service would have to be as soon as she could leave the play she was appearing in in the east. This is an injustice to Joan to say she had refused to come. The title of the book implies that the author has letters from Joan Fontaine, in fact they are thank you notes that she was kind enough to send him, thinking he was a ture fan.

The pictures section is rendered worthless by the fact that they are on regular paper-stock. By the by, one never publishes a serious biography with a series of autographs.