Look Back With Mixed Feelings

by Dodie Smith

Her amusing autobiography

Genres: Biography, Autobiography, Nonfiction

277 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Born Dorothy Gladys Smith in Lancashire, England, Dodie Smith was raised in Manchester (her memoir is titled A Childhood in Manchester). She was just an infant when her father died, and she grew up fatherless until age 14, when her mother remarried and the family moved to London. There she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and tried for a career as an actress, but with little success. She finally wound up taking a job as a toy buyer for a furniture store to make ends meet. Giving up dreams of an acting career, she turned to writing plays, and in 1931 her first play, Autumn Crocus, was published (under the pseudonym “C.L. Anthony”). It was a success, and her story — from failed actress to furniture store employee to successful writer — captured the imagination of the public and she was featured in papers all over the country. Although she could now afford to move to a London townhouse, she didn't get caught up in the “literary” scene — she married a man who was a fellow employee at the furniture store.

During World War II she and her husband moved to the United States, mostly because of his stand as a conscientious objector and the social and legal difficulties that entailed. She was still homesick for England, though, as reflected in her first novel, I Capture the Castle (1948). During her stay she formed close friendships with such authors as Christopher Isherwood and John Van Druten, and was aided in her literary endeavors by writer A.J. Cronin.

She is perhaps best known for her novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, a hugely popular childrens book that has been made into a string of very successful animated films by Walt Disney. She died in 1990.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

About 40 years ago I read my way through the public library editions of Dodie’s four volumes of autobiography, relishing each well chosen word. When Look Back With Mixed Feelings was withdrawn (it’s horribly stained) I bought it. This is my first rereading since then and I delighted in the story and the writing all over again. This volume covers her mother’s death, schooldays, RADA ie The Academy, and her patchy acting career. She can recall vivid details that bring a situation alive, and I laughed many times. I’m now going to have to track down the rest. Inter Library Loans, here I come.

[Susan Chapek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all four volumes of Smith's memoirs, but this is the one I own (first edition, second-hand, with a notation that the original owner purchased it at Heal's, which is the destination Smith lands in at the end of this book).
And this is my favorite of the books, focusing as it does on Smith's bumpy journey through acting school and the ups and downs of her struggling attempts to succeed as an actress (hampered by her small stature, among other problems).
Smith's writing voice is comfort food to me, and anybody's theater memoirs are, too. So I admit that I reread favorite bits of this book periodically, and did [my third or fourth?] complete reread in 2022.

[Suzanne Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second instalment of Dodie's autobiography, where as one gathers from the title this period of her life isn't going as well. She struggles to be successful on the stage and lucky in love.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started well, but aggravating by the end. Read the final 20 pages with gritted teeth.