True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess

by Wendy Leigh

Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco, the legendary Hollywood screen siren, Grace Kelly is an American icon whose beauty is unrivalled, and whose oft-imitated aristocratic style and cool elegance has never been eclipsed.

Wendy Leigh- after three years' research - has gained unprecedented access to over one hundred sources who have 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 - and also including her priest friend, Father Peter Jacobs, and Bernard Combemal, the former head of the S.B.M, the consortium that runs Monaco.
Wendy Leigh provides revealing new details about Grace's life, including her premarital romantic swan song which took place during her voyage to Monaco, the hitherto untold story of her troubling relationship with bridesmaid, Carolyn Reybold and the moving story of Grace's lifelong relationship with actor, David Niven.
Wendy Leigh paints a compelling portrait of Grace, the ambitious young actress, Grace, the dutiful princess who transformed the principality of Monaco into a jet-set haven, Grace, the kind-hearted philanthropist, Grace, the loving mother, and Grace, the patriotic American.
Wendy Leigh's book has not been written for those readers who wish to view Grace as a saint, but for those who - like Leigh herself - believes that she was a strong and wonderful woman.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

305 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Ghostwriter & celebrity biographer. She has also written books on love, sex & relationships

http://www.wendyleigh.com/#

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst biography I have ever read and the most disappointing book I've read in a long time. Leigh seems obsessed with Grace's romantic life and spends more time trying to root out scandal than conveying meaningful information about Grace Kelly's personality and character. The writing was poor (e.g., "On the penultimate night of the voyage, less than two days before the boat was due to dock," and "a newsletter that listed the names of visiting celebrities visiting Paris"--where was her editor?!), but even more unfortunate was the obvious slant. Not infrequently, I felt like I was reading a tabloid article instead of a biography. Leigh's fascination with scandal and the occult (e.g., the appendices in this book Grace Kelly's astrological chart and an analysis of her handwriting) completely undermined any credibility that this book would have otherwise had. I will not be reading any other of Leigh's publications.

[Leslie Goddard · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I were teaching a course on biographies, I would issue this book as an example of how not to do it.

It looks like a well-researched book. Leigh conducted more than 100 interviews, many of them with people who hadn’t been interviewed before. The sources at the end list hundreds of newspapers, magazine articles, archival sources, and books. And she has a lively, engaging writing style that makes this book easy to read.

The problem is that Leigh seems to weigh everything as equally true. A National Enquirer article is as valid as that from that from the most reputable newspaper. An interview with a friend of a friend of a neighbor is as valid as an interview with one of Grace’s closest friends. There seems little awareness here that an interview done 20, 40, 50 years after the fact can be colored by inaccurate memory or an interviewee wanting to shape the story to fit their own biases.

Furthermore, even with these “new” interviews and articles, too much of the book consists of stories lifted straight from other biographies, including Spada, Spoto and others. Leigh says she didn’t want to do a book that’s “warmed-over” but that’s exactly what it felt like to me.

Most disappointing to me, Leigh seems to have been determined to present Grace in the most salacious terms and chose only evidence to confirm that. She seems to pick and choose only the evidence that confirms the most scandalous vision of Grace.

Reading this book, I didn’t feel like I was reading about a real human being. Princess Grace certainly wasn’t a saintly princess living a fairy tale, as has sometimes been presented in other biographies. But neither was she the oddly inhuman character that emerges in this book.

[Patricia Fawcett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read previous biographies of a true, twentieth-century icon, I approached this one with caution. Over 31 years since her tragic death, the saccharin-coated eulogies of someone who was termed a fairy-tale princess have evaporated. The gloves are off, yet Wendy Leigh, in giving us a well-researched, warts-and-all account of the life of Grace Kelly, aka Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, paints a touching picture of her subject. From being the all-American girl who found her way into films, Grace did not have any self-worth. Her aim in life was to receive approbation from her father, something which was never forthcoming. Perhaps as a knee-jerk reaction, Grace displayed a healthy attraction for the opposite sex. Her affairs have been well-documented, her on-screen chemistry and elegance also. She elected to marry Prince Rainier of the miniscule principality of Monaco, who pressed his suit on the advice of a fellow expert in relationships, Aristotle Onassis. Monaco was dirt-poor; Rainier insisted on a dowry of $1M, saying this was a family custom, and so Grace was sold into marriage with a serial, opportunistic philanderer. Nevertheless, she was pragmatic about entering the marriage, believing that her glory days on screen were well and truly behind her. Grace alone put Monaco well and truly on the international circuit. She promoted the principality at every opportunity, yet was forced, or coerced, into deferring to her husband at all times. She had affairs and attempted to make a life-within-a-life by embracing other interests. I was deeply saddened that a vital, erstwhile totally-liberated woman was forced to live out a life unfulfilled, in a humiliating marriage. Had she chosen to leave the marriage she would have had to abandon her children to Rainier. He, and his principality, would have been nothing without her. Since it lost its fairy-tale princess, Monaco has been sidelined, little-known for anything apart from being a haven for tax exiles and a motor racing venue.

[dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

delicious, salacious gossip. think hollywood babylon by kenneth anger, but maybe more accurate? i loved it.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book with very high hopes, but Ms. Leigh left me utterly disappointed. No new facts were revealed and the book seemed to focus mainly on Grace's romantic relationships, with the surprising exception of her marriage with Prince Ranier, which was quickly reviewed. More insight, perhaps, was given to Grace's troubling relationship with her father but, again, her marriage to the Prince and residence in Monaco over the course of 25 years was covered in a minimum number of pages. The book ended suddenly with Grace's death - - no mention of her funeral, how her husband and children dealt with her sudden passing or the people of Monaco's grief and the longterm effect of an American princess in their country. No updates on the children, particularly Caroline, who matured and took Grace's place as a beloved princess of Monaco, or Ranier, carrying on without her.
To add insult to injury, the book is rife with typos and mistakes. And a minor point, but the photographic section in the middle of the book is stingy and leaves much to be desired.
All in all, a very sad effort for an actress and princess who deserved a better biography.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the princesses I have always been most interested in the life of Princess Grace. I don't know if it is my love of old movies or the fact that I have been told many times by a friend of the families that i am an old soul but in reading this book I learned so much about her and am even more fascinated with her and her life. She was not only beautiful but talented, caring and strong through her life struggles . This book gave me insight into her life and learned things about her that I would have never imagined happened to her especially because of the charmed life the world has become accustomed to believing that royalty lives. This book shows that even a hollywood star, princess can be just like the rest of us . I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in Grace or even someone who just wants to learn about an important person in history who had a great effect on the world.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the quality of the writing, I enjoyed reading this biography because I have always admired Princess Grace. However, I have read other Grace Kelly biographies and this one did not provide a thorough description of her life, but was instead more of an overview. What I appreciated about this biography was the author's approach of depicting Grace as who she truly was: an inspiring woman who fearlessly confronted adversity and always held family as a priority.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story yet heartbreaking...I have always admired Grace because I thought of her as this graceful, sophisticated, honest woman..plus every girl dreams of the fairy tale that she seemed to live..after reading this book, you look at Grace Kelly in a different way and you realize the fairy tale is not always as glamorous as the Disney movies portray.

[Jeanna Suckling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knowing the film was due for release I wanted to understand the story of Grace Kelly better. This book delivered everything I wanted from it, not overly long but provided all the information to get a picture of her life (& many loves!)

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most recent biography about Grace Kelly (published in 2007) has several new interviews and anecdotes, and shows the dark side of the "fairy tale."

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A three star read regarding the life of Princess Grace.
Features her life, her struggles and her affairs.
Nothing has been left out.
If you are interested in Princess Grace, or want to know more a great book to read.

I found it to be a book based purely of gossip, and dragged out in places.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more interesting and more in-depth than the ones I have read on Grace in the past. This book concentrated on the all parts of the Princess's life. It talked about her different romances with men in hollywood. Let me just say she slept around a bit. It was very nice with that after her marriage they talked about possible romances she might have had and that her husband did keep mistresses, but it didn't explicitly say this is who she defiantly did do something with after her marriage. I liked this because it showed how she wasn't really a perfect person, but did honor her catholic religion. It was a bit short and I may read more about her again.

Overall, I would say that if you are interested in learning about Princess Grace, just to get you feet wet with it or an idea this would be a good book to read. It was a very nice and easy to read approachable book.

[Zoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book in a moment of weakness. I've always thought Grace Kelly was absolutely gorgeous, and she is. However, I think I was better off not knowing about her daddy complex and all the various men she slept with and what an asshole Prince Rainier was. The book is also very badly written and clearly only got a very cursory copyedit, at best. Glad I got it from the library and didn't actually pay money for it.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading this book since September, and have read at least 4 other books since starting this book. It was the first biography I've really ever read, and I really can't say that I enjoyed it. I know SO much about Grace Kelly now! This book told me everything about her. She grew up in Philadelphia, and she had so many juicy affairs with movie starts, etc. I'm glad I have the knowledge about her, but this book was a little bit of a drag.

[Peter Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK read but overall quite disappointing but perhaps that’s the nature of Grace Kelly herself.Very concerned to cover various affairs which did surprise me as did her promiscuity.Her life in Monaco was ultimately very sad so she herself had a disappointing life,having different interests to Pr.Rainier.But there again she appears to have had no airs and graces and was clearly loved as a friend by many stars such as Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Stewart.

[Rebecca Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grace Kelly did not have the perfect princess fairytale life that was assumed by many. This story tells of the life of Grace filled with want of acceptance from her father, failed loves, and lack of true happiness. Not a happy life, with a tragic ending. The book was interesting, but not the happiest story in the world.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so engrossing that I began reading it at Barnes and Noble and had to buy it because a few hours and 150 pages later I was hooked. Very interesting look into one of America's film legends.

[Joshua Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this bio but I felt it lacked real depth. It focused more on the paparazzi- kitty Kelly sort of bio. I much preferred Ever After... It had a much more humanist perspective on Princess Grace.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trivial, tawdry, lightweight... This biography is lacking in depth and is worse than the Kitty Kelley bios because it focuses on the superficial, esp. the affairs. I found some of the tales of relationships to be questionable if not provably false.

[Sharman Bonus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so terribly written. It was nothing more than a series of gossipy quotes strung together in random fashion. There was nothing interpretive or insightful about it. It was a cardboard portrait of a woman whose life was certainly more interesting than presented here.

[Amanda Bynum · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I have learned from this book: biographies aren't my bag.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only reason why I gave this 5 stars is the fact that my fiance's aunt was the bridesmaid who's husband had an affair with Grace Kelly!!

[Nicollette Brewster · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Sensationalist garbage.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lady liked to get about. I say no more.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, to be exact. Considering to review this at a later time.

[Amanda Lei]

Wow, sort of racy, but quite informative.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda feel its sad that back in the day, your private life,was private!I enjoyed this book, but it hard to read about the people in history, and see some had just as few morals as people do today.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Linda Riha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. I found the book to be more scandalous and gossipy rather than informative! Extremely redundant!

[Lynsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was not well written in my opinion. didn't have a good flow, and pretty superficial.