Where Madness Lies: The Double Life of Vivien Leigh

by Lyndsy Spence, Sarah Welborn (Narrator)

Vivien Leigh was one of the greatest film and theatrical stars of the '30s, '40s and '50s. Her Oscar-winning performances in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire have cemented her status as an icon of classic Hollywood.

From 1940 to 1960, Leigh was married to Sir Laurence Olivier, and together they were considered the royal couple of British theatre. Indeed, their romance and acting partnerships captured the imagination of the public around the world.

Behind the scenes, however, Leigh's personal life was marred by manic depression which remained undiagnosed until 1953. Largely misunderstood and subjected to barbaric mistreatment at the hands of her doctors, she would also suffer the heartbreak of Olivier's infidelity. Contributing to her image as a tragic heroine, she would die at the age of 53.

Unlike previous biographies, Where Madness Lies begins in 1953, when Leigh suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalised. The tragic story unfolds as she tries to rebuild her life, salvage her career and save her marriage.

Featuring a wealth of unpublished material, including private correspondence, bestselling author Lyndsy Spence reveals how Leigh fell victim to the draconian medical practices of the day and suffered due to her circumstances. It's a timely look at just how far we've come since the early days of mental health treatment.

7 hrs. 58 min.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Biography Memoir, Mental Illness, Audiobook, Memoir

8 pages, Audible Audio

Published January 7, 2025

About the author

Welcome to my Goodreads profile!

I am the author of The Mitford Girls' Guide to Life (The History Press, 2013); Mrs Guinness: The Rise and Fall of Diana Mitford (The History Press, 2015); Margaret Lockwood: Queen of the Silver Screen (Fantom Films, 2016); The Mistress of Mayfair: Men, Money and the Marriage of Doris Delevingne (The History Press, 2016). I also edit and produce The Mitford Society annual.


Aside from writing books, I have dabbled in screenwriting. In 2012 I co-wrote The Flower Girl, a short film directed by Emmy Award winner Nick Nanton and shot on location in L.A. My biopic of Vivien Leigh is in development with Ariana Entertainment, and I am currently developing and co-writing a television series based during WWI.

I have written for mainstream newspapers and magazines including Social & Personal, The Lady, Vintage Life, and BBC News Magazine. I also review books for The Lady.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a mess. There is almost no chronology or context; the book jumps back and forth in time with no reason and sometimes no explanation. It’s like a stack of note cards with facts about Vivian Leigh was assembled, dropped, and then printed in whatever order in which they were gathered up. Whoever edited this should be embarrassed.

[Louise Hulewsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book only three stars because it was very repetitive. The author gives us lots of information but for me, it was the same information written in different ways. At least it felt like that.

I was a fan of Vivien Leigh since I was a young girl and saw Gone With The Wind. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I still think that but I admit, my respect for her has dwindled. So much in this book I did not know. I understand she was dealt some pretty bad cards in life but I have major issues with the adultery even if it was a thing of the times. Wrong is wrong. The way she treated her daughter made me so sad. She was not nurturing or proud or mother like at all. Everything else in her life took precedence.

Did her mental illness play a large part of the things that she did? I'm sure and she suffered horribly with it. The treatments that she received that were supposed to help her were horrendous. This was a very disturbing book to read and I feel it could have been better written. Still, Vivien Leigh was an actress to remember. I am so sorry that the suffered the way that she did.

If you are a Vivien Leigh fan, ,even if you're not, this is a good read to maybe understand the power of mental illness.

Thank you Edelweiss and the publisher for a copy of this book to read and honestly review.

Look for it in January of 2025.

[Sean Peters (A Good Thriller) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather different biography, maybe not a tribute, maybe not so much about her good work and life.

But, yes a powerful story that does tell the heartbreaking story of a woman falling to bits in the public eye, very public eye.

How accurate the relationship and arguments took place between Larry and Vivien, we will never know, yes it was well known her public breakdown, their bitter divorce, but much is guess work , the author has mentioned a few celebrities who witnessed the relationship, but not many.

What we do know, and I had guessed a lot of this, Sir Laurence Olivier was not a nice character, difficult to work with, liked younger women, had many affairs, had a very difficult time with an actress who was vert unstable, loved her drink, and loved Peter Finch.

This book also has a pet hate for me, backwards and forwards, flashbacks. The book starts in 1953 for obvious reasons, but jumps backwards 30's, then to 1958, and so on.

All I can so no tribute, a lot of guess work, nobody comes out good, Peter Finch and his drink, which was well known, Larry Olivier, difficult, well known.

Little to do with her career, her co-stars.

Only 2 stars.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well written and well researched, and had an entertainment value, however, I am not sure why this book was written. In actuality it is not a biography, nor does it delve in depth into Ms. Leigh's life. What detracted from the book (at least for me) is that it was not told in sequential order, rather it was up and back continuously. Every time I picked up the book, I kept thinking - wait a minute, it was 1950, how is it the 1939 again? I am not sure why this narrative was chosen, but it did not work well for this reader.

[Mediaman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely pointless book trying to reposition the memory of Vivien Leigh's mental illness, in which a young fan consolidates what she gleaned from all the many other books out there on the subject. This biased work, in which the author admits "I hope my admiration for her talent and courage is conveyed," is tarnished by the writer's claim that, "I wanted to give Vivien her power back." Over what? "The mental illness which warped her perception of herself and how others saw her."

But the woman is dead and this author has no idea what the Oscar-winning star would want.

There is so much wrong in her introduction that attempts to justify this misguided work, admitting that she has "nothing but admiration" for the actress and "It is in no way meant to be damaging." The book is simply a propaganda tool pushing the very modern unscientific idea that mental illness should be blamed for any and all bad actions of a person. This book fails to discern between when a woman makes bad choices and when an illness controls her.

The structure is odd--she starts in 1953 and only covers the last 15 years of Leigh's life, but then backtracks within chapters to summarize the woman's affairs and marital history. Almost nothing about her career. Conjecture is used throughout, slanting everything to give the Gone with the Wind star the benefit of the doubt, often putting words or ideas into stating "in truth" what was happening to Vivien internally. The young writer has no way of personally knowing any of this as truth or fact, she is simply drawing her own biased conclusions filtered through a modern lens with no first-person accounts. Then MANY outside variables are ignored or brushed aside in order to have a creative narrative that ignores other facts.

Large statements are made with very little support information, particularly when it comes to Leigh's sexual choices. Some will rightfully find this book offensive and the publisher should be held accountable for putting something out that is so thin in carrying out a narrow-minded spin on a long-dead celebrity's private life. Shouldn't HIPAA cover medical information for famous people that can no longer speak for themselves?

Where madness lies is in the author and editors that found this worth putting into print.

[Ali · Rating 1 out of 5]

Has some interesting information about Vivien Leigh's life & seemed well researched, but it was extremely hard to follow (especially on audiobook). The author jumped around in time a lot, and it was extremely hard to follow when things happened. If it had been in chronological order, I would have rated higher, but I did not enjoy listening to it because it was so hard to follow.

[Diane OLeary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decades ago I read Anne Edwards' bio of Vivien Leigh and learned a lot about this beautiful, damaged actress. This book is sad because the focus is on her mental illness and not her artistic achievements. She had the talent to create two of the greatest female characters in cinematic history, Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois, yet her personal life suffered due to manic depression and at the that time the medical treatment for this disease was inadequate, barbaric and ineffective. VL suffered greatly throughout her life both physically and emotionally. There is further insight into her relationship with Laurence Olivier. Both were troubled, self centered and insecure artists who appear to have brought out the worst in each other. This was a tough but engrossing read and a quote by VL's lover, Peter Finch, stays with me: "If ever there was a flawed masterpiece, it was Vivien".

[Alise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about a woman who struggled with her mental health and tried to survive in a different kind of jungle. And that jungle made her worse ("Mad as a Hatter") given the condition she had. Welcome to Hollywood!

This was not an easy read, but it's good to know if you want insight into what mid 20th-century stars went through. I feel sorry for those who unfortunately experienced the so-called "help" for the mind. Madness truly ruled Vivien’s life, but instead of being supported or eased, it was tortured and hidden most of her life. Silenced by society, yet deafening within her inner circle, Vivien’s madness was destructive - to relationships, to lives. It’s a double-edged sword. A tangled knot with no easy way to undo it. 

This book is quite dry, so take it more as an informative piece rather than an entertaining one.

Of course, this isn’t just about mental illness but about a woman who was a recognized actress. Seeing life through her eyes, understanding what kind of person she was - it wasn’t always a pretty sight. And in the eyes of others, she often wasn’t at her best. In Hollywood, it seems, there is no respect or dignity. "That was the Hollywood way."

[Martin Mintman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has read at least 5 or 6 other biographies of Leigh, I found this one just as interesting as it takes a nonlinear approach to her story, starting in 1953 as her bipolar disorder takes a tragic grip on her career and her marriage to Laurence Olivier. The story also flashes back to her childhood, first marriage, and the handful of films she made; my biggest complaint in the edition I read had fascinating previously unseen photos (to me, anyway) but were not printed on higher quality paper aside from the printed page. Also, I wish there were different photos for both the front and back covers. Even if Vivien is best known for Scarlett O'Hara, seeing her in the green barbecue dress seems like a disservice to the whole book mostly because it shows us the very complicated woman behind the iconic character.

[Cait Kitchens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tragic story of Vivianne, a beautiful and talented woman, is heart-wrenching. It paints a poignant picture of how her undiagnosed and mistreated mental health was a consequence of childhood trauma, a legacy that continues to affect her daughter. The book, while impactful, feels drawn out and repetitive at times, making its emotional weight even harder to bear.

[Karin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and it did make me want to watch Gone With the Wind!😂

[Charlotte Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written and researched. It was a very hard read since Vivian Leigh had a rough life due to her physical and mental illness.

[Darla Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much very sad madness for me.

[Charli · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read one chapter and then abandoned this mess….so poorly written, disorganized….more like a college senior thesis, not a well researched biography. When she admits she consulted a psychic medium to help her find Leigh’s voice, I should have known better. It’s a shame because it is a fascinating period in Leigh’s life and does touch on a theme that is ripe for discussion—mental health in the 1950s

[Abbie ౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivien is my favourite actress and so I enjoyed learning about her life so much and most of it was new information for me. After reading this I feel nothing but admiration towards Vivien and the hard yet beautiful life she led (I do however have to say that I like Larry a lot less). She truly was such a beautiful soul and I found her spirituality particularly interesting. I also love how it ends on a beautiful, peaceful note instead of a particularly sad one, although I still feel a sense of loss.

[MKF · Rating 1 out of 5]

The constant new agey stuff thrown in makes it difficult to take this seriously especially with an afterward from a psychic. Then there's the fact the author chose 13 chapters because it's supposedly a symbol of femininity. Twice in the book when mentioning a location she has to tell you that the place is supposedly haunted as if it's important to the story. It just seems odd that a book that's supposed to be focused on mental illness would include stuff like that.
Another problem is that it's supposed to be about the last 13 years of her life but the story constantly jumps to different periods. By the end of the end of the book you have read an almost complete biography just not very in depth. It has changed my opinion on Vivien who apparently was a very ugly person who treated others badly. She was even surrounded with ugly people so I can just imagine the generational trauma their kids and and the kid's families must suffer from.

[October · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading it, but felt a bit lost keeping up at times. Whilst I admit this could be due to not knowing a lot about Vivien Leigh going in, I think the way the author jumps around in time didn't help.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate this 4.5 out of 5.

I enjoy Leigh's work as an actress and was very excited about this new biography about her life. Luckily my library got a copy of this book shortly after it was released. Spence paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of Leigh's life from the primary sources and interviews. This was such a heartwrenching portrayal of Leigh's life and marriage. Switching between the onset of Leigh's worst mental health symptoms and the early years of her life Spence delicately interwove a nuanced discussion of Leigh and Olivier from the primary sources and interviews. Spence also approached the discussion of Leigh's treatment both medically and socially concerning her mental illness with such care, while not shying away from the unfortunate aspects of treatment during Leigh's lifetime.

Although, Spence presented the evidence in such a way to demonstrate the faults and strengths of all of those involved I did not walk away from this book liking Olivier. I've seen several of the movies that he stared in and think he was a very good actor, but after reading some of his actions and comments he was a bit of an ass. At one point Spence talks about how Olivier said that the only one of the women that he truly loved was Vivien. Now that's fine if you don't take into account that he was actively married to Joan Plowright at the time he allegedly said this. That being said, I do think that Spence makes it very clear that he was only a human person and that some of the decisions that he made that directly impacted Vivien and her treatment may have had deeper motivations that first appeared.

This book was such an interesting reflection on the private life of an actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood. I walked away from reading this not only with a deeper understanding of Leigh but a greater compassion for her as well. The only thing I struggled with in the book is that the timeline jumps around between Leigh's final years and her early life and sometimes I got a little lost (probably due to my own making rather than anything Spence did in the writing). I would highly recommend it.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Death, Racism, and War

Early electroconvulsive therapy is discussed in detail throughout the book.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every few years, it seems, a new biography about Vivien Leigh (or Leigh and Laurence Olivier) appears. Some are academic, others passionate, some wildly salacious. With its somewhat melodramatic title, "Where Madness Lies", I was afraid this latest Leigh biography--just now crossing the pond from the UK, where it was published last year--might be a case of the latter, yet another book hyping the "Vivien Leigh was a fucking nutcase" tone more suitable to a Ryan Murphy trashy telefilm than a serious biography. Indeed, the framing of Leigh's life story makes that fear even more likely to be realized when the relatively slim volume opens in 1953, when Leigh suffered a nervous breakdown while filming the "Rebecca"-on a tea plantation, 'Elephant Walk". Bookending her life story with a mental health crisis at opening does problematically threaten to frame Leigh as a tragic figure as well as give the crass, uneducated more fuel for the "Scarlett was a real loon" audience. I can't say I feel the book succeeds in getting far away from that angle, but where it does succeed is in comparing and contrasting meaningful moments in her life to humanize her. Opening relatively late in Leigh's life, the book is able to jump back to episodes to tell her whole life story, but with more resonance than some other biographies--told via a lineal timeline--managed to do. The writing here is also, at many points, truly beautiful and, as almost always with Leigh's story, her seeming inability to relegate Olivier to the past frustrating. So, in many ways, we have not a straight biography of Leigh, nor another expose on her romantic life with (and without) Laurence Olivier, but a biography, in many ways, of her mental health, told with sympathy and care. Made more clear here than in most biographies is her relationship with actor Jack Merrivale and her touching friendship with her first husband, Leigh Holman, from whom Leigh took her stage surname. At just over 200 pages, this biography expediently covers her full life while focusing mostly on the final fourteen years of it, fascinating years that, in other biographies with a more traditional narrative, often crawl out to a quiet end.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find this and more bookish content at www.bargain-sleuth.com

Thanks to Edelweiss and The History Press for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I’m torn about this book. While the book itself lends some more insight into Vivien Leigh’s mental illness and break, I was not a fan of how the book was written. Beginning in 1953, when Leigh suffered a breakdown, the book both goes forward and flashes back in her life. The problem is that it’s not always clear when the flashbacks begin, and more than once I had to go back and find out where the change was because different people and times were being mentioned. This very erratically written book was hard to get through.

The subject matter, however, is very relevant to today. Being able to discuss and receive humane treatment for mental illness is a lot more acceptable in the world today, but there’s still a long way to go. Some of the solutions back in Leigh’s time, like electroshock therapy, often stripped people of memories and some of their personality. Then there’s the fact that Leigh was publicly mentally ill in a time where it was usually whispered about. Because everyone had loved her in Gone With the Wind as Scarlett O’Hara, they were more forgiving of her problems.

Most, that is, but not her husband of 20 years, Sir Laurence Olivier. He didn’t know what to do with Vivien when she went manic or depressive other than suggest she try to get pregnant to help save their marriage. Most of the time, he went off to work in various films and theater productions and have affairs. Sometimes, he included Vivien in his theater productions, and still screwed around right in front of her.

Leigh’s decline was inevitable without the support of her husband, who eventually left her for actress Joan Plowright, and the last few years of her life were even more difficult all alone. A sad end to a bright talent on the screen.

[Gill Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyndsy Spence takes the unusual step of starting this extraordinary biography in 1953, when Vivien Leigh was about to turn forty and had already played the roles for which she is best remembered, when her glittering celebrity marriage to Laurence Olivier was foundering, and she was plummeting headlong into a terrifying nervous breakdown while filming in Ceylon. It's a brave choice, but she completely pulls it off because this is a book about mental illness and its treatment in the mid-20th century, just as much as it is about the most beautiful, ethereal actress of her day.

We learn in flashbacks about Vivien's obsessive, all-consuming love affair with Larry. They utterly adored each other, and were fêted as royalty when they toured the world playing Shakespeare. Sure, he had affairs, she had affairs – it's what actors did and still do, because they need constant affirmation of their charms. We learn how Vivien won the roles of Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche Dubois, and that she earned a reputation for being difficult to work with because her ill health, both mental and physical, made her unpredictable on set. And yet she continued working in theatre right through barbaric courses of ECT treatments and the devastating heartbreak when Larry, the other half of the once-glittering couple, asked for a divorce so he could marry Joan Plowright.

I came away feeling intense empathy for Vivien, and huge respect for the way she kept going despite all that life threw at her. She was clearly much loved by her many friends, by her devoted first husband Leigh and her last lover Jack. In Lyndsy Spence, she has a biographer who understands theatre as well as mental illness, and I think she is very well served. It's a compelling read.

[christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

plenty of interesting information to mine here, but a little frustratingly organized. each chapter is prefaced with a corresponding year, but the narration jumps between periods so frequently & suddenly these headers seem misleading. often spence will insert a flashback mid-paragraph and continue on in this vein for multiple pages before so much as clarifying the year we're now discussing, let alone returning to the initial point.

and while i respect spence's efforts to inject a distinct style (for better or worse, this very much reads like narrative prose), this approach a) feels partially to blame for the confusing structure of this book, b) encourages a greater level of speculation & assumption than i typically prefer in my nonfiction and c) just...didn't always land for me, generally speaking. the author has a lot of grammatical tics (the rampant comma splicing comes to mind), which are fine in theory (i also enjoy taking a cartoon mallet to grammar conventions!) but don't seem to serve much purpose in this context and (to me) tend to read pretty awkward. the comparisons between vivien leigh's life experiences and various shakespeare passages likewise Did Not Work For Me Personally (at least, as executed here), and i will admit to feeling ​kind of relieved when i turned the last page.

despite all the complaints, this is solid; the author did her research, the message here (because there is a message) was shaped with clear intent, and it's a message i can appreciate—just a little tough to follow & over embellished for my taste.

also: man laurence olivier kind of sucked huh

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book made me feel melancholic.

I felt so sad for how she was treated staring at a young age and how her mental illness affected her. And the treatments she had to go through.

I also felt sad to know how she treated her daughter.

This book reminds me of how complex we are as humans. We can do wonderful things and turn and do something horrible. It reminds me to have more love, compassion, and grace for those around me. It reminds me of the importance of forgiveness, and moving past the hurt. It shows the importance of boundaries. It shows the importance of having good friends.

Her life isn’t remembered for the manic episodes she displayed publicly, but for the art she put it into the world. And I think that’s a good reminder for us all too, even ferociously scrutinized celebrities will not always be remembered for the worst part of their past, but for the contributions they made to the world. Everyone makes mistakes, but don’t let that be the thing that you let people remember. Charge ahead and if you “hit a stone wall, climb over it.” I know that’s not the exact quote but I really liked the sentiment.

I’m glad she had Jack in the end who could see her through her illness. Because I think that’s all we really want, is to be seen and loved despite all we do to cause hurt. Someone who can help us get on a stable path.

I do think the book is well written, though the timeline jumping was a bit confusing in audiobook format.

[Emily Suchanek]

Where Madness Lies is a hauntingly intimate exploration of one of Hollywood’s most complex and tragic icons, Vivien Leigh. Lyndsy Spence doesn’t just recount the glamour of Leigh’s career, but digs deep into the emotional and psychological toll of her fame, mental health struggles, and tumultuous personal life. The portrait that emerges is one of a woman constantly at war with herself—the fierce, ambitious star who captivated the world, and the fragile, tormented soul behind the scenes. It’s a book that feels less like a biography and more like a quiet confession, as if we’re being let in on a secret, one that’s both heartbreaking and fascinating in equal measure.

What struck me most about this book is Spence’s ability to balance the myth with the woman beneath it. Leigh is so often remembered for her iconic roles, but Spence gives us something much more vulnerable, her struggles with bipolar disorder, her desperate need for love, and the ways in which those who loved her could never quite save her from herself. It’s a sobering, yet deeply empathetic read. If you’re interested in the untold stories behind the silver screen, and how fame often masks our deepest scars, this biography will give you a new lens through which to view Vivien Leigh.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book about the life of Vivien Leigh - the actress best know for Gone with the Win, but primarily a Shakespearean actess. There are her husbands, the daughter she basically left behind, and the mental illnesses that affected her life.
As a person who worked with psychiatric patients I was most interested in the treatment of her illness which was later identified as manic-depression. She appears to live only for herself with some part time caring for her husbands. Her episodes are explained well and the signs of another episode coming on with warning to those who cared about her.
She wanted to be cared for by people but at the same time she was rude and not very kind to them.
Laurence Olivier appears to deeply love her but eventually the relationship was not good for either of them and she always depended on him even after the divorce.
At time this is a frustrating book to read with the repetitiousness of thing that happen in her life. I am glad I read it but would not read it again.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a hard read.

As someone who loves Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, I know almost nothing about Vivien Leigh's real life. I had heard about her being mentally ill and her affair with Olivier that turned into a twenty year marriage, but little else.

This book really didn't do much to help me understand who she really was. She lived in a time where the mentally ill were put away and mistreated. Her status as a celebrity did save her from the worst of that, but a lot of the stories of her mania, depression and life with her two husbands felt more like hearsay than actual truth. The stories bordered on salacious really only touching on her very low lows, how she abused the people in her life, her indifference as a mother, and her own mistreatment as a child, but all of it was grazed upon and never really dealt with in a way you'd expect from a biography.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vivien Leigh, star of Gone with the Wind, had a sad life in many ways. She suffered from severe mental illness, what was then called manic-depression, with incredible manic highs and terrible depressive lows. But it's not just depression - people suffering from this can get quite mean and really hurt others around them. Olivier, who had run off with Vivien and married her, (although he cheated on her while they were together) finally called it quits after 20 years of marriage and many fights and scenes. She had electroshock treatment, which helped some, but at that time, there weren't a lot of treatment options and mostly she just suffered through. It affected her work and life deeply. She drank heavily and smoked constantly towards the end of her life, which probably did not help her failing physical health. Still she gave us some wonderful screen performances, especially as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is hard for me to rate because I feel has a biography, it really isn't completely trustworthy. There is a lot of assumptions and heresy written and Vivien. After thinking on it, I decided to rate it based on my enjoyment of the book, which was quite a bit. I also kind of view it more as a semi fictional book inspired by Vivian Leigh, rather than a book truly about her. Viewing it in that way, I enjoyed this book a lot and found myself relating to her several times. I truly believe that Vivian couldn't help the way she was. Could she help her actions? Absolutely. Abandoning your child will always be unforgiveable to me. As will adultery. But I don't think she could help that her brain chemistry was so off that that she didn't see the fault in them. All the electric shock therapy later on surely didn't help anything either. Vivien Leigh lived a very glamorous life but at the heart of it it was a very sad life.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't really a biography in the usual sense. It seems to want to go into the mind of Vivien Leigh
but I couldn't figure out what the author's sources were for that. The footnotes reference other newspaper and magazine articles as well as writings from Laurence Olivier, but to pretend to tell the reader how Ms. Leigh felt at any given moment was a stretch for me -- it almost felt like a fictional character was being superimposed on this real person... like the author filled in the blanks on her own. It doesn't appear that Vivien Leigh kept a journal or diary to relay the thoughts that are attributed to her, so the authenticity was not there. The book ends with a 'reimagining' from 'sessions with a psychic medium' who 'channelled messages from Vivien's spirit' --- hmmmm.
Didn't quite land with me.