Rich: Life of Richard Burton [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Melvyn Bragg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 1988

This is the first biography of the actor, Richard Burton, to be supported by his own 300,000-word unpublished journals that cover the years of his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor, plus all his papers and unpublished memoirs of his adopted father. Many of those close to Burton have talked for the first time, including his daughter Kate, his elder sister Cis, who brought him up as her own after the death of his mother when he was two years old and the teacher Philip Burton who adopted him and gave him his name. Bragg has also had the benefit of conversations with actors and close friends, including Sir John Gielgud, Sir Michael Hordern, Lauren Bacall, Robert Hardy, John Neville, Emlyn Williams, John Le Carre and Alec Guinness. Here, the actor who was born Richard Jenkins, the twelfth child of a South Wales miner, stands revealed as never before, often in his own words. After a scholarship to Oxford, a brilliant career in the theatre, then Hollywood and films like "The Robe", his career blossomed with "Camelot" and "Cleopatra" after which he married co-star Elizabeth Taylor. Further films intervened, then, in quick succession, he divorced Elizabeth Taylor, married Suzy Hunt and re-married Taylor, divorced her and married Sally Burton. In the book he discusses marriage, women, his work, arthritis and addiction to drink, and also shows himself to be a fine descriptive writer and humourist with a love of literature. At the age of 56 he died in his sleep. Melvyn Bragg is the author of 13 novels; his non-fiction includes a study of Laurence Olivier, "Land of the Lakes" and "Speak for England".

Product Details

• Hardcover: 600 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; First US Edition edition (September 19, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340405376
• ISBN-13: 978-0340405376
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,111,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent biography!, March 2, 2004

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rich: Life of Richard Burton (Hardcover)

This is a well-researched and thoughtfully-written biography of a man who was perhaps the most famous man in the world in the decade of the 1960's. Now, sadly, Burton's legacy and fame have dimmed considerably and he's remembered more as Elizabeth Taylor's fifth (and sixth) husband. He was much more than that. I have always thought Burton overacted miserably in most of his roles and I was chiefly intrigued with him because of his beautiful physicality and because was an erudite, deeply intelligent man. He was also a prodigious reader and a keen intellect, but this genius seemed utterly wasted on Liz, a woman with whom he shared a passionate sex life, but precious little else.

The highlight of this book is the inclusion of over 100 pages of Burton's diaries, kept meticuously from 1965 until his death. Burton writes candidly, wittily and brilliantly. It's devilishly exciting to read his words about Liz and his vicious put downs of others, including a visceral tirade against poor Lucille Ball. He also muses on occasion about his autistic daughter, Jessica, who was hidden by the Burtons and kept in an institution all her life.

Burton had a larger-than-life appetite for living, sex, booze... you name it. He was self-destructive, manic-depressive and difficult, but all of those things make for a compelling character and this book illuminates him like no other.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As close as you'll get, July 15, 2002

By 

Jeremy Thurston (Llanelli, South Wales) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rich: Life of Richard Burton (Hardcover)

My title refers to the way I see this biography; it's as close as you're going to get to a real picture of the man, especially seeing as he's no longer with us. I read this book some 8-10 years ago and have read it at least twice. What I liked,in particular, about this book is the fact that it is made up of, in no small measure, actual extracts from his own memoirs, as well as interviews with those closest to him throughout his life. A picture is painted of a very intense man, of painful and frustrating complexities, a man forever pursued by very real and personal demons. The latter, the "demons", is something which, I feel, is an inextricably inherent component of many of us, if we are truthful. Reading the book, it is easy to feel quite uncomfortable, in an intriguing way, about the fact that here is a man who, perhaps, is not ALL that different to ourselves, in as far as our own insecurities, fears and personal nightmares are concerned. This book is an absolutely fascinating, gritty insight to an angry, tough, yet vulnerable genius of a man of deeply human qualities, with which many of us can identify, at least in some aspects. A chunk of a book but very easily read; lock yourself away with this one, as you definitely won't want to be disturbed, once you're under way!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burton is great, May 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rich: Life of Richard Burton (Hardcover)

I loved the book: it reads like a novel and one has to remind oneself that it is a true story. It quotes extensively from Burton's notebooks and often he seems to be a better writer than Bragg. Burton emerges as a gifted, intelligent and sensitive person torn by inner conflicts - the side of him few people knew. At the same time the book has all: the glamour, the scandals, the love story etc. After reading it I rushed to buy all Burton's videos available here.