Overview
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Grace Kelly’s death, New York Times bestselling author Wendy Leigh has written a haunting celebration of a life that ended far too soon, starring a heroine whose dramatic, star-crossed story is both tragic and inspiring.
Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco, the legendary Hollywood screen siren Grace Kelly, is an American icon whose beauty is unrivaled, and whose oft-imitated aristocratic style and cool elegance have never been eclipsed.
Over the course of three years’ research, Wendy Leigh gained unprecedented access to more than one hundred sources who had never talked about Grace before, including nine of her until-now undisclosed romances (among them an English aristocrat, an American tennis player, and a Hollywood legend), her priest friend, Father Peter Jacobs, and Bernard Combemal, the former head of the S.B.M., the consortium that dominates Monaco.
Providing new details about Grace’s life, including her premarital romantic swan song that took place during her voyage to Monaco, Leigh also reveals the hitherto untold story of her troubled relationship with bridesmaid Carolyn Reybold, and the moving story of her lifelong relationship with actor David Niven.
True Grace paints a compelling portrait of the ambitious young actress, the dutiful princess who transformed the principality of Monaco into a jet-set haven, the kind-hearted philanthropist, the loving mother, and Grace, the patriotic American. Wendy Leigh has written True Grace not for readers who wish to view Grace Kelly as a saint but for those who, like Leigh herself, believe she was a strong and beautiful woman.
Synopsis
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Grace Kelly's death, New York Times bestselling author wendy Leigh has written a haunting celebration of a life that ended far too soon, starring a heroine whose dramatic, star-crossed story is both tragic and inspiring.
Publishers Weekly
Grace Kelly's public persona sounds glam: a Hollywood star marries royalty. But behind the cameras were decades of unhappiness and a lonely death. And in this well-researched biography, Leigh (Prince Charming: The John F. Kennedy, Jr., Story) presents Kelly as the daughter of a self-made millionaire known for his philandering and emotional indifference. Yet she was eager to impress him and longed for attention. She found it onscreen and in a series of affairs with older, married men: Ray Milland, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper and the Shah of Iran. In fact, according to Leigh, she had affairs before and after her marriage. Kelly looked cool, but she was sexually aggressive a subject that Leigh doesn't shy away from. The mystery is why the Oscar winner chose Prince Rainier, the ill-tempered, cash-strapped ruler of a tiny principality. It wasn't a love match: Rainier got a $2 million dowry, while Kelly's glamour turned a dissolute country into a playpen for the rich and famous. Kelly hoped to keep her career and was crushed when she realized marriage had trapped her. She could divorce but she couldn't take her children. Leigh makes certain to note Rainier's infidelities along with chronicling Kelly's history, acting career and charitable work in Monaco. (Apr.)
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Grace Kelly's movie career only lasted five years (1951-56), but the aura it helped create never weakened. Indeed, Kelly's life reads like a storybook romance: This daughter of a self-made Philadelphia millionaire became an international film star, an Academy Award winner, and then, in 1956, Her Serene Highness the Princess of Monaco. Even her 1982 death in an auto accident, like that of Princess Diana, became a topic of speculation and controversy. After years of research and hundreds of interviews, biographer Wendy Leigh now records the radiance and sadness of this luminary's life. An enthralling view of a screen goddess.Publishers Weekly
Grace Kelly's public persona sounds glam: a Hollywood star marries royalty. But behind the cameras were decades of unhappiness and a lonely death. And in this well-researched biography, Leigh (Prince Charming: The John F. Kennedy, Jr., Story) presents Kelly as the daughter of a self-made millionaire known for his philandering and emotional indifference. Yet she was eager to impress him and longed for attention. She found it onscreen and in a series of affairs with older, married men: Ray Milland, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper and the Shah of Iran. In fact, according to Leigh, she had affairs before and after her marriage. Kelly looked cool, but she was sexually aggressive—a subject that Leigh doesn't shy away from. The mystery is why the Oscar winner chose Prince Rainier, the ill-tempered, cash-strapped ruler of a tiny principality. It wasn't a love match: Rainier got a $2 million dowry, while Kelly's glamour turned a dissolute country into a playpen for the rich and famous. Kelly hoped to keep her career and was crushed when she realized marriage had trapped her. She could divorce—but she couldn't take her children. Leigh makes certain to note Rainier's infidelities—along with chronicling Kelly's history, acting career and charitable work in Monaco. (Apr.)
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
The Grace Kelly story has been told so many times, one wonders, "Why again?" Kelly was the daughter of a wealthy, self-made man from whom she could never get the love she craved. Her beauty and talent propelled her into acting, a career she pursued until she met her prince (Rainier, of Monaco). Many biographers have documented Kelly's life, and Leigh (Prince Charming: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story), who broke the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger's womanizing and his father's Nazi past in her 1990 biography of the now "governator," acknowledges the works that preceded hers, most notably, J. Randy Taraborelli's Once Upon a Time. But she insists hers stands apart because, of the 125 named sources she interviewed, 98 had not talked to previous biographers. She also details 15 romances not previously disclosed (e.g., with Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis). One cannot dismiss Leigh's research, but her book has a decidedly tabloid feel (e.g., she includes Kelly's astrological chart and an analysis of her handwriting). While Taraborelli's book remains the definitive portrait of Princess Grace, this is a good addition to the oeuvre for gossip mavens.
—Rosellen Brewer