An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (Hardcover)

by Christopher Andersen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
To Andersen's credit, though a Hepburn fan … he doesn't whitewash Tracy's drinking binges, his violent outbursts, his verbal abuse, and Hepburn's seemingly masochistic embrace of him. -- Entertainment Weekly

Product Description
It was one of the great romances of our time. They were both Hollywood giants in their own right, yet it was the nine hit films Katharine Hepburn made with Spencer Tracy that, in the eyes of the American public, defined them as Hollywood's most celebrated romantic team. On-screen, the headstrong Tracy had met his match in Kate Hepburn and she put him in his place. Offscreen, despite the fact that he never divorced his wife, Kate remained utterly devoted to the mercurial, sometimes violent Spencer as he battled alcohol.

Now, 30 years after Spencer's death, and as Kate celebrates her 90th birthday, author Christopher Andersen, who has interviewed Hepburn many times during the last 20 years, reveals fascinating new insights from important sources, and offers the full, poignant story of their life together. An Affair to Remember paints the complete portrait of the unique relationship between these two American icons.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688153119
• ISBN-13: 978-0688153113
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #957,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spence and Kate: the secret romance, July 31, 2003

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

These two screen giants met on the set of Woman of the Year in 1942 and were together until Spencer died of a heart attack, shortly after wrapping up Guess Whose Coming to Dinner in 1967. This book chronicles their remarkable, romantic pairing in an era where a movie star's private life could remain hidden from a prying public. Spencer was married to a devoted Catholic, Louise, and he refused to divorce her. He also felt a tremendous sense of guilty about his deaf son. So marriage was out of the question, but Kate didn't care, she just wanted she be with Spencer, and she was, following him all over the world to sit worshipfully at his feet.

Andersen dutifully chronicles the nine classic Tracy-Hepburn films and gives some intriguing behind-the-scenes glimpses into each movie. There is also much information about Tracy's legendary bouts with the bottle, his brief fling with Gene Tierney in the early 50's and Kate's affair with Howard Hughes in the 1930's. All the bases are covered, but I wish Andersen would have interviewed more people close to the duo. Still, an engrossing read and essential for anyone enamored with either Spencer or Kate.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all the hopless romantics out there., September 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Affair to Remember, An: The Remarkable Love Story Of Katharine Hepburn And Spencer Tracy (Mass Market Paperback)

One of the best books I have ever read. A great love story for the romantic in all of us. Chronicals the ups and downs of a relationship on the sly with a love that would last a lifetime. Very sad, yet a love we all wish we could find. I couldn't put it down.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very intriguing., July 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Affair to Remember, An: The Remarkable Love Story Of Katharine Hepburn And Spencer Tracy (Mass Market Paperback)

It was filled with great information about Katharine and Spencer - seperately and together. It is unbelievable that they existed in a 26 year relationship and nobody talked about it until Katharine started talking about it herself. Amazing.