This authoritative biography of John Gielgud deals in fascinating detail with the life and work of the greatest classical actor of the twentieth century. Drawing on recollections of more than a hundred friends and colleagues, Jonathan Croall captures vividly Gielgud's early struggles as an actor, his trail-blazing achievements as a director, actor-manager and interpreter of Shakespeare, and his late flowering in the plays of Pinter, Albee, Storey, Bond and Bennett and as an Oscar-winning movie star. It also uncovers Gielgud's difficult relationship with Laurence Olivier and reveals his courage in the face of a humiliating scandal that threatened to wreck his career. An absorbing portrait of a remarkable actor.

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