The Redgraves: A Family Epic [Hardcover]

Donald Spoto (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 2, 2012

The dramatic, poignant and revealing saga of the Redgraves, one of history's greatest families of actors.

For more than a century, the Redgraves have defined theater and film while captivating the public eye. Their history is a rich tapestry of singu­larly talented individuals whose influence is felt to this day, yet their story has never before been told. In The Redgraves, bestselling biographer Donald Spoto draws on his close personal relationships with the family and includes both his interviews and un­precedented personal access to them. The result is a groundbreaking account of this extraordinary clan and their circle, including such luminaries as Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, and Sir Laurence Olivier.
 
The story began in 1907 with the marriage of actress Daisy Scudamore to matinee idol Roy Red­grave and the birth in 1908 of their son, Michael, who became a famous stage actor and movie star. Michael’s family and wild social circle knew that for decades he was insistently bisexual, notwithstanding his marriage to Rachel Kempson, one of England’s most glamorous and admired actresses.
 
Their daughter Vanessa, a great and revered per­former, is the only British actress ever to win Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Cannes, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards—achievements that have been paralleled by a profound humanitarian commitment even as she tackled difficult and controversial roles.
 
Vanessa’s sister, Lynn Redgrave, led a triumphant and complex life in her own way, too. From her per­formance in the movie Georgy Girl to her prizewin­ning play about her father and her Oscar-nominated performance in Gods and Monsters, Lynn established herself as a very different Redgrave.
 
Corin Redgrave, their brother, was known for his acclaimed performances onstage and screen—and he was a tireless and outspoken political radical.
 
The family tradition of distinction continues with the careers of Joely Richardson and Jemma Red­grave and reached a high point in the life and career of Vanessa’s daughter, Natasha Richardson, who earned a Tony Award for her role as Sally Bowles in the revival of Cabaret. Natasha’s sudden death after a skiing les­son in 2009 shocked and saddened admirers of her work and graceful spirit.
 
The product of more than thirty years of research, The Redgraves recounts the epic saga of a family that has extended the possibilities for actors on stage, screen, and television in Britain, America, and around the world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Look Inside The Redgraves

Sir Michael Redgrave: (British Film Institute, Film Stills Archive)

Vanessa Redgrave in Blow-Up, 1966 (The Danish Film Institute)

Lynn Redgrave and Geoffrey Rush in Shine, 1996 (British Film Institute, Film Stills Archive)

Review

"Chronicling the Redgrave family from 1894 to the present, this book is as much a tribute to the crafting of family history as it is to the dynastic acting family. From the questionable beginnings of Sir Michael Redgrave to the recent, tragic death of his granddaughter, Natasha Richardson, Spoto (Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford) takes readers up close and personal with the Redgraves in this detailed history. Readers interested in the Redgraves and their work on screen and stage will also learn about the paths they took to become great actors. Spoto's more than 30 years of research successfully come to fruition in this title, which is much like his 1983 book, The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock. Spoto allows readers to become completely immersed in the lives, across generations, of this remarkable family. Highly recommended for readers interested in acting, the Redgraves, or multigenerational family histories." — Library Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Crown Archetype; First Edition edition (October 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307720144
• ISBN-13: 978-0307720146
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars We are not a dynasty, we are a family September 18, 2012

By Lyric VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Vanessa Redgrave in a response to interviewers about the Redgrave dynasty answered "But we are not a dynasty, we are a family." Redgrave is absolutely correct in her description of the Redgraves. If one message comes through clearly in this book it is that despite the very unconventional circumstances of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson's marriage -- they were always a family prepared to help one another, enjoy one another's success and stand by one another when things went terribly wrong.
I enjoyed this book for many reasons -- first, I knew little about the senior Redgraves other than that they were the famous parents of three famous children. This book fills in their story by focusing on Michael Redgrave's life and career and as his life progresses and he marries Rachel Kempson, her career is brought into the story and the portrait of their unusual marriage emerges. Michael Redgrave ultimately told his adult son Corin that he was bisexual and before he married Rachel Kempson, he told her that he had sexual relationships with men. Yet -- she loved him and went into the marriage with eyes open and with the thought she could change him. She readily admits that this was due to her own naivete. Nonetheless she stayed in the marriage and Spoto is honest enough to state some reasons why she would have done so beyond the fact of loving Redgrave and having borne his children. Spoto certainly does not shy away from making it quite clear that Redgrave all his life had long- and short-term lovers and many times those lovers lived with the family as Michael's assistant or lived nearby with all expenses paid by Michael. He also details the fact that the Redgraves were often in dire financial straits due to an extravagant lifestyle plus the expenses Michael incurred supporting his lovers. I credit Spoto for not turning the book into one focused solely on the sexual aspect of Redgrave's life and the sexual life that Kempson found with another man for many years. Instead most of the book focuses on his and her work on stage, film, radio, lectures etc. We get a real picture of Redgrave's theatre life in England during the 30's when he was a young man working with other young actors such as Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft etc. It was an exciting time and Spoto captures that. Many times books that are biographies become so focused on the personal life that the professional life -- the thing that made someone famous is neglected. That isn't the case with this book. It helps too that Spoto uses the words of all the participants to fill out the narrative. He had interviewed Michael and got to know Kempson quite well and ultimately had the cooperation of Lynn for the book all of which bring authenticity to it.
Just as Kempson's career flowed into the book when she married Redgrave so too do the children who we see growing up in the famous household, their interests, their schools, their strengths, and the moment when one or both parents realizes the special talent that each child possessed and recognized that they really had raised three interesting and accomplished young people. As Michael ages and his health deteriorates and Rachel too begins to fade, the three children take a more dominant role in the book and each in turn gets their full measure of exposure, their personal lives as well as their professional accomplishments are presented. Vanessa and Corin were both political activists who paid dearly for their very public stances on issues: anti-nuclear, anti-war, anti-imperialism and for their humanitarian efforts in regard to refugees wherever they found them: Kosovo, Macedonia, Afghanistan, and Palestine. Spoto does a very good job of detailing the story of Vanessa Redgrave being accused of anti-Semitism because she was willing to expose the plight of the Palestinians. The reality of the situation is quite different when all of the facts are stated surrounding the situation that cost her many years of work in the US and a boatload of bad publicity.
He also discusses the private lives of Vanessa, Corin, and Lynn. Vanessa like her mother married a man, Tony Richardson, who had numerous affairs with men as well as women. Mericifully, he does not stoop to psychoanalyze Vanessa's choice to marry into the same sort of situation that her mother had with Redgrave. Ultimately the marriage ended but Vanessa and Richardson remained friends and worked together.
Corin and Lynn had more conventional marriages but they too had problems with spouses.
Spoto brings the book to a close with the deaths of the original family save Vanessa and also includes the untimely death of Natasha Richardson. It's in this last chapter that the word "family" is reinforced as we see the members coming together to help, aid, console, support one another as they live their very public lives and endure very private heartbreak.
I very much recommend this book. Spoto obviously liked and likes these people. He likes their talent and their willingness to live life in the best way they could despite the constraints of the time period in which they lived esp. for Michael who had to keep his homosexuality a secret not only because it would have affected his career but also because of the laws in England which persisted until fairly recently. I also like the fact that Spoto does not sit in judgment of these people or their choices -- instead -- he tells their story and allows the reader to get to know them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Spoto Comes Up Short March 21, 2013

By Edward Garea VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Donald Spoto has a reputation for controversial biographies, usually revealing some sort of fact or alleged fact that captures both readers and critics. With this one, however, he comes up short. It lacks the revelation or revelations that would distinguish it from other biographies written about the family, really telling us little that we did not already know about this talented and controversial family. Perhaps its because his bio covers the entire family and Vanessa is still alive and kicking. Perhaps she's litigious. Bt all this aside, where's the depth the subject demands. This reads like a Redgraves for Dummies book and parrots information found easily elsewhere. A biographer should to more than simply recap their plays and movies. Michael Redgrave's bisexuality was well known to movie and theater fans long before Spoto attempts to make something out of it. At least provide us with some new information. The same with Vanessa's leftism. There's also precious little about Lynn; I would have liked to know more - much more - about her early career and breaking into the family business. But we get nothing, nil, nada. The book itself check in at only a scant 384 pages. His book on Olivier weighed in at over 500 pages, as did his book on Hitchcock. The bio of Marilyn Monroe went over 700 pages. True, they were bigger stars than any of the Redgraves, but we're talking about an entire family here. 384 pages is all you can offer us? also, where are the photos? The entire books reads if it was written simply to fulfill a contract or to be a compleatist. Most disappointing.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not so epic. September 19, 2012

By shirlan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This book does go into some detail about the acting family starting with Michael Redgrave's family and ending with the actors in this generation. I thought way too much information was given to Michael Redgrave.TMI about his homosexual life. He did manage to father 3 children but his main sexual preference was for men. Rachel Kempson, his wife was quite his egual in acting skill but she was not given as much credit as her husband. He comes across as a selfish man demanding much from his family but giving little back. He took many months away from the family while living with his frequent young men. He especially liked all the sailors.The family did inherit talent from their parents, more from Rachel than Michael I think.Vanessa and Corin were into very left wing politics and Vanessa , the only remaining family member is still active in left wing causes. Vanessa lost her beloved daughter Natasha, her brother Corin and her sister Lynn all very close together. She keeps giving her superb performances in spite of her great loss.