Off the King's Road: Lost and Found in London (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Raphael's memoir encompasses her personal journey from early 1960s New York wife and actress to divorcée and single mom in swinging 1968 London. Brooklyn-born, Skidmore-educated Raphael married a man named Bob , first a law student, then a talent agent and successful movie producer whose work eventually took the couple and their three children to London. However, Bob's affair with an 18-year-old actress essentially destroyed the marriage, and Raphael, living with her kids, ages eight, five and four, in the aristocratic five-story brick townhouse off the King's Road in Chelsea, resolves to stay in that city and reinvent herself. Friends help her along, such as the servants she inherited from the previous Lady D'Avigdor Goldsmid; Vivian, an older L.A. friend of a friend, who urges her to read Colette, de Beauvoir and Doris Lessing; her husband's ex-shrink, David, the "anti-psychiatry psychiatrist," who excoriates marriage and convinces her to drop acid; as well as an intriguing assortment of men to date. There are intermittent love affairs and jobs: she is employed as a book researcher, then later writes letters for Penthouse magazine. By 1971 she returns to New York a novelist, triumphantly a woman on her own. Raphael (They Got What They Wanted) offers stylish anecdotes for the historical record.
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From Booklist

In this immensely appealing memoir, Raphael shares an engaging story of self-discovery in 1960s London. After leaving Los Angeles to join her film producer husband in England, Raphael is shocked to find her 12-year marriage over. Confounded by her spouse's revelation of an affair with an 18-year-old actress, Raphael navigates the world as an expatriated single mother of three, finding solace in London's dazzling mazelike streets and libertine society. An "island of friends" (painters, writers, and lyricists) and distinctive menagerie of characters, including her "anti-psychiatry psychiatrist," encourage her to strip away the sacrosanct: "Experience will save you. Break out. The nuclear family is over. Try something new." Heeding their call, Raphael, the dutiful Jewish daughter (whose family owned a Brooklyn-based spice business), former off-Broadway actress, and self-described "person of small ambitions," finds herself swinging, developing her writing talents, and coming into her own. Miriam Tuliao
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Other Press (January 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590512596
• ISBN-13: 978-1590512593
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,116,964 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring in a "who cares?" kinda way, September 6, 2009

By	SayWhen (LA, CA) - See all my reviews

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It takes twelve pages for the author to say Marlon Brando rubbed his knuckles against her arm while simultaneously hugging RIta Hayworth. This is a going nowhere slowly book. It's an inflated, name-dropping HEY WORLD LOOK AT HOW GREAT I AM book. I couldn't take much of it. I don't recommend it.

3.0 out of 5 stars entertaining but self-preserving..., August 28, 2007

By	suep "suep" (philadelphia, pa) - See all my reviews

the book is well written and entertaining but it is less a memoir then a justification piece. it seems that ms. raphael is justifying her behaviors and making excuses for bad decisions she has made in her life. this is not a down to earth, honest memoir. it is a self-preservation attempt. if you can overlook this, you might enjoy it.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars even if you can't relate, a great read..., January 25, 2008

By	Kristen (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

I was born in the 1970's, am not divorced, have no kids, and have never lived in London, so I can say with all honestly I have NO IDEA what it would have been like to be her. Nevetheless, I was completely intrigued at this snapshot of life...and truthfully a little jealous!

A great read for anyone who feels like they missed out on all things swinging and wants a glimpse of it. Well-written, easy to follow, and hard to put down.