Skip to main content

Elizabeth Taylor, A Passion for Life by Joseph Papa: book review




Elizabeth Taylor, A Passion for Life: The Wit and Wisdom of a Legend (2011) is about the movie actress. It is not a full biography of Elizabeth Taylor – it contains short historical passages, black-and-white photographs, a list of her marriages, and a list of her 56 films. The predominant focus is her quotes – quotes about childhood, marriage, motherhood, rehab, acting, beauty, aging, extravagences, and charitable work.

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) was born in England to American parents. With the onset of World War II, her family moved back to America. Taylor’s first movie in 1942 when she was 10 years old was There’s One Born Every Minute. It was National Velvet (1944) that catapulted her to movie fame when she was 12 years old.

She had four children during 8 marriages to 7 husbands – she married actor Richard Burton twice. The shortest marriage was 7 months to hotelier Conrad Hilton – her first marriage at 18 years of age in 1950. Her longest marriage was to actor Richard Burton from 1964-1974 and 1975-1976, whom she met on the set of the film Cleopatra (1963). All marriages ended in divorce, except her third marriage to Michael Todd in 1957, who was killed 13 months later in a plane crash. Her longest period unmarried was 10 years between John Warner (married 1976-1982) and her last marriage to Larry Fortensky (married 1991-1996).

There were no relationships that did not lead to marriage – if she dated them, she married them. One of her quotes is ‘I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed, too – for being married so many times.’

Of the men she starred with, her favourites were Richard Burton, Montgomery Clift, Clark Gable, Rock Hudson, Roddy McDowall, Spencer Tracy, and John Wayne. She was also known for her luxuries (art, food, diamonds, and houses), although she said the most accessible luxury was perfume.

It’s a short read, and more of a picture and quote book than anything else – not offering much new information – although there are insights about Taylor from her many quotes. It’s more of a gift book or for Taylor fans.  



MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing
1 comment
Read more