Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "In the autumn of 1958, I underwent the most intense theatrical experience of my life to date..." (more)
Key Phrases: tua donna, scenic director, hasty heart, New York, Patricia Neal, Miss Neal (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Screen legend Neal's life was filled with tragedies and triumphs, and Shearer unveils an impressive portrait of the actress, revered for her roles in such memorable movies as A Face in the Crowd and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Born in Kentucky in 1926, Neal began her drama studies at the age of 11 in Knoxville and was a professional by age 19, possessing a fiercely ambitious drive when she arrived on Broadway as an understudy in 1945. After she won a 1947 Tony Award for Another Part of the Forest, Hollywood beckoned. Over five decades, she made more than 30 feature films, including her Oscar-winning performance in Hud. After her emotional affair with Gary Cooper led to an abortion, she married writer Roald Dahl in 1953. Neal suffered massive strokes in 1965, yet made her much-publicized screen comeback three years later in The Subject Was Roses. In addition to extensive interviews and a detailed appendix, the book benefits from Shearer's access to Neal's personal archives of reviews, scrapbooks and letters. She also supplied at least 50 of the 123 photos seen here. Readers of As I Am, Neal's 1988 memoir, will seek out this biography for more of the actress's absorbing and inspirational story. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Mr. Shearer is to be congratulated for this account of Neal's life...One can see plainly while reading this book that is was a real labor of love. Anyone interested in movies as well as U.S. social history will treasure this volume about an extraordinary actress and lady." -- Daily News

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 504 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (May 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813123917
• ISBN-13: 978-0813123912
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #657,309 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Celebratory Portrait of a Revered Actress Far Too Often Overlooked, July 14, 2006

By	Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I just saw Patricia Neal's superlative performance in Elia Kazan's still-amazing "A Face in the Crowd" for the first time on DVD this past week and was reminded what a searing screen presence she could be. Author Stephen Michael Shearer, a former actor and longtime friend of Neal's, has seen fit to write a comprehensive biography of the actress just as she turns eighty this year. Her work is definitely worth revisiting, and what's more, her life is thick enough with professional triumphs and personal traumas to justify the rather expansive 441-page length. It's obvious why Shearer has taken such an interest in the actress's fascinating life, and he can certainly be guilty of providing a fair amount of fawning to go along with his sharp insights, especially in the early parts of the book.

With her striking beauty and throaty bluegrass-tinged voice, Neal achieved success early, first hitting big on Broadway in Lillian Hellman's "Little Foxes" prequel, "Another Part of the Forest", and then scooped up by Hollywood in 1949. In short order, she co-starred as headstrong Dominique Francon in the lavish, highly flawed adaptation of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" and immediately embarked on a five-year affair with screen legend Gary Cooper, very married and a quarter century older. While it was not quite the level of the Ingrid Bergman-Roberto Rossellini scandal happening at almost the same time, Neal still faced not only a cold-blooded industry but also an unwanted abortion and ultimately a nervous breakdown despite strong early impressions in 1950's "The Breaking Point" (said to be Hemingway's favorite adaptation of his work) and the 1951 sci-fi classic, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (uttering her famous words -"Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"). Neal married famed children's author Roald Dahl after the Cooper affair ended. As she started to raise a family, she made a comeback in Kazan's masterwork which led to her feline turn as the interior decorator in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and her Oscar-winning performance as the sensual, worldly wise housekeeper Alma in "Hud".

Despite her impressive professional success, the most interesting, obviously devastating parts of the book occur after her career peak in "Hud" when she tragically suffered three burst cerebral aneurisms while pregnant. Dahl was her constant, goading caretaker but also the source of escalating personal pain as he embarked on an extramarital affair that finally ended their marriage after thirty years in 1983. Shearer covers these years in great detail, but I think his portrayal of Neal's obviously complex relationship with Dahl could have delved somewhat deeper into the impact of the strokes and the death of their first child on both parties. The author also remains light on the facts that could have precluded Neal's medical condition at the time, even though her long-term recovery is covered in painstaking detail here. Afterward, she was able to turn in stellar work in 1968's "The Subject Was Roses" and 1971's "The Homecoming", the precursor to the long-running TV series, "The Waltons". Overall, the author's admiration for his subject remains uncompromised, and he succeeds in painting a celebratory portrait of an actress who never seems to get her due.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read About A VERY Interesting Person, January 1, 2008

By	Joseph Albanese "The Joe Show" (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Stephen Michael Shearer has endeavored to tell the story of movie icon Pat Neal in a no-nonsense, "loose the frills" way.

By now, there isn't a movie buff around who does not know about the Patricia Neal/ Gary Cooper romance. Unlike others who might make it seem holy or even downright tawdry, the author gives us the facts and dates and skips the frills and sermons. Good.

However, especially in dealing with such an interesting subject as Ms. Neal, the author should be taken to task for not probing a bit below the surface. He gives us facts (and there is little to doubt the accuracy) but not reasons. One case in point: When Pat Neal's husband - Roald Dahl - began having affairs, their children sided with their father to the point where it was suggested that Ms. Neal "not bother to come home for the Christmas holidays". Disturbing and interesting but the reader walks away without ever discovering where the friction was between mother and children (at the end, they all seemed to have resolved their differences but how and what was the original cause?)

The book is an easy read and fairly interesting if you can look past some of the glossing over of facts in favor of dates.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New Patricia Neal Biography, January 18, 2007

By	C. M. Smith - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An Unquiet Life is well written and provides extensive information about the Hollywood and Broadway scenes in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. The photographs, from Miss Neal's personal collection as well as those from other sources, are superb.
This new biography serves as a companion piece to Miss Neal's wonderful autobiography, As I Am, and they should be read together.