Will There Really Be a Morning? [Mass Market Paperback]

Frances Farmer (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 379 pages
• Publisher: Dell Books (June 15, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440192927
• ISBN-13: 978-0440192923
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #762,022 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing memoir of a tortured, complicated woman, October 10, 2003

By 

Douglas King (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Will There Really Be a Morning? (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is not only my favorite autobiography, but it's also one of my favorite books of any genre. Francis Farmer, the infamous movie star who ended up institutionalized, was a tortured woman. This autobiography, which she wrote shortly before her death, is an extremely well-written, brutally honest, and mostly unflattering self-portrait. She tells of her relationship with her controlling and insane mother (who committed her), her unintentional rise to fame in Hollywood (she wanted to be a theater actress, and found Hollywood mostly empty), her emotional breakdowns, run-ins with the law, drinking problems, loveless marriages, and her time spent in a horrific state mental institution. Despite it all, Francis Farmer doesn't seem to feel a lot of self-pity, and she admirably takes responsibility for much of what happened to her. What really makes the book touching is Francis' description of what ultimately saved her: her friendship with Jean Radcliffe (who published the book after Francis died). Toward the end of her life Francis was able to find a lot of love and happiness, mostly due to the unconditional support she received from Jean and her family. This makes the book not only a juicy tale of a fallen Hollywood star and a disturbing memoir of a mental hospital, but an ultimately inspiring story about the healing power of love and friendship.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars moving but misleading, June 7, 2003

By 

Lisa M. Drayton "lmd" (ny, ny United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Will there really be a morning?: An autobiography (Hardcover)

It is a definite fact that this book was not written by Frances Farmer at all, but by Jean Ratcliffe, whose close relationship with Farmer was chronicled in the final chapters of this book. For legal reasons subsequent pressings altered the subtitle from "an autobiography by frances farmer" to an "autobiography of frances farmer." It's very disappointing that there really is no definitive biography by or about Farmer. I was deeply moved & horrified every time I read this book, but since Farmer isn't the author, it gives credibility to the many disputes that have arisen regarding the book's veracity. The same can be said about "Shadowlands," on which the 1982 film "Frances" is based. Farmer's sister wrote a biography of Frances entitled "Look Back in Love," but she had as much of an agenda as Ratcliffe may have had, only hers was to exonerate the Farmer family from the beating they'd taken in "Morning" & "Shadowland." Keep this in mind when you read the book(s). Frances Farmer's life is ripe for authentic documentation. This just isn't it.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five BIG Stars!!!, September 3, 2003

By 

Tom "Tom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Will There Really Be a Morning? (Mass Market Paperback)

If you're looking for a book that will keep you interested from cover to cover, never able to put it down, this is the book for you! This is the autobiography of movie star, Frances Farmer, and her demise. It tells of her nightmarish mother (I found myself wanting to hurt her mother more than Frances herself wanted to), her tirades and outlandish temper, her many terrible years in a pit hole of mental institution where she was mistreated and abused and treated like an animal (literally), her struggle with drug and alcohol abuse and her experience with cancer. Whew! All in one book! There were times when I had to divert my eyes (which made it difficult to read) or set it down because I was ready to slap her mother around and my blood pressure was rising.

The most incredible thing about this story is, I believe, that Frances was fair. By that I mean that she told the story as it was and didn't make herself out to be completely blameless or less "violent" than she was. She told about her outbursts and her stupid behavior made from no-thought decisions. She never said, "Poor me," without adding something more justifiable to the pot.

The reading is incredibly easy. Her style (and that of the one who helped her write it) is very smooth and it seems as though everything she has to say is written in an interest-grabbing way.
So, if you want a good, heart-felt, blood stirring read, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It truly is one of the best I've been lucky enough to find. :o)