And That's Not All : The Memoirs of Joan Plowright

by Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright first met Laurence Olivier in the mid-1950s when he was still married to GONE WITH THE WIND star Vivien Leigh. Joan was the daughter of a north country newspaper editor and his wife, an amateur actress of note. She went to drama school, worked at the Royal Court at the height of its LOOK BACK IN ANGER celebrity, starred in plays by Arnold Wesker and John Osborne, and then Olivier came into her life. They started an affair - then Vivien Leigh, a manic depressive, suddenly consented to Olivier divorcing her. Joan's marriage to Olivier coincided with the launch of two companies directed by Olivier, the Chichester Festival and the National, in which she appeared. She confesses that he was 'not the easiest man to be married to' but they stayed together and she nursed him through ten years of illness. At the core of this book is the relationship with Olivier and it includes their love letters. Joan also refutes the wilder claims that have been made about Olivier's sexuality in several unauthorised biographies. She has always enjoyed writing as these feisty, poignant and funny memoirs show.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Theatre, Biography

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Dame Joan Ann Plowright (28 October 1929 - 16 January 2025) was an English actress whose career spanned over six decades.

She won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and was nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy and two BAFTA Awards. She was the second of only four actresses (as of 2024) to have won two Golden Globes in the same year. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play in 1978 for Filumena.

She was described by Variety as "perhaps the greatest Anglophone actor of the 20th century". Plowright was married to actor Laurence Olivier from 1961 until his death in 1989.

Reviews

[Michael Burge · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best parts of this perfectly satisfying autobiography is Plowright's honest account of the demise of Laurence Olivier into jealousy, sabotage and outrageous amnesia as her career was on a trajectory and his was winding down. Her anecdotes about celebs (including Grace Kelly, and the Burton-Taylors) are extremely funny and insightful.

[Dinkie Boutkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifull book about here life with sir Lawrense Olivier, as his wife and both their careers.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

National treasure.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was something evasive about this book. Impersonal, distant and lacking. I couldn't wait to be done with it. Not my cup of tea.

[Cary B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful actress and one of my favourites, Joan Plowright writing about her life should be amazing, but sadly it all falls a bit flat because she doesn't really reveal herself. She was married to Laurence (Lord) Olivier, long acknowledged as one of Britain's greatest stage and screen actors. Joan covers her glittering career here and she really has worked with some of the greats: Robert Stevens, Maggie Smith, Mia Farrow, Franco Zeffirelli and many, many more. Sadly it all becomes about surface and names though, and it eventually becomes a bit dull. I kept wishing she'd write about her relationship with her famous husband and with other actors. You can understand her protecting her privacy but it does seem like an omission. There are some amusing incidents which she relates very well towards the end of the book, I wanted more of these, but for the reasons I've given it's all a bit disappointing.

[Mark Ludmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and initimate memoir, ending in 2001. Joan Plowright provides glimpses and insights into her work in theatre and film but her husband, Sir Laurence Olivier, looms large in the story. It reveals some of the behind-the-scenes drama in the development of the National Theatre and is peopled by many legendary figures from theatre since the 1950s. It reproduces a lot of letters which, for me, was overdone, although there are some gems in there. By her own admission, the memoir jumps around a lot which makes it a little fragmentary and uneven but it is an essential read for anyone interested in British theatre in the second half of the 20th century.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

For someone who has lived such a fascinating life this was hugely disappointing. Constant use of letters and diary entries means it doesn’t flow and lacks much insight. Also it should probably be relabelled as memoirs of Lady Olivier, because all but three of the chapters revolve entirely around him.

[Jan Eadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable and enjoyable, after a slightly tedious beginning. Good follow up to a couple of others i’ve read about Brit theatre. All the usual suspects from a little different perspective. Now i want to watch all these films on Netflix.

[Lynnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sumptuous glorious read. An inspiration and a revealingly bold telling of a magnificently shared life and love for each other and the theatre. She is candid, witty, and lovingly open about sharing memories and stories of life with the real Lawrence Olivier.

[The Bookish Wombat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The memoirs of the now Dame Joan Plowright, actress and third wife of the late Sir Laurence Olivier. The book focuses on her stage work and on her marriage to the great man - it contains less than I expected (and would have liked) on her film career.

As this is the case I found it less interesting than I might have, but still found it a good read. She comes across as a warm and open person, but inevitably does descend into "luviness" from time to time.

She writes with an immediacy and sense of humour that makes the book an informative and entertaining read.