George: An Early Autobiography

Autobiography #1

by Emlyn Williams

hardcover

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, British Literature

461 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 1976

About the author

Born George Emlyn Williams in Pen-y-Ffordd, Mostyn, Flintshire in northeast Wales on November 1905, he lived in a rural village in which Welsh was spoken until he was 12 years old, when his family moved to an English-speaking town, Connah's Quay. It changed the course of his life as it was there that the teacher Sarah Grace Cooke, recognizing his literary talent, encouraged him and helped him win a scholarship to Oxford, where he attended the college of Christ Church. She is immortalized in the character of Miss Moffat in his play, "The Corn is Green."

Williams' plays "Yesterday's Magic," "The Morning Star" and "Someone Waiting" were also performed on Broadway, and he had a success on the Great White Way as an actor himself in a solo performance as Charles Dickens, which he revived twice. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for 'A Boy Growing Up' (1958), an adaptation of a work by fellow Welshman 'Dylan Thomas'. The tribal Williams also nurtured the young Welshman Richard Burton, whom he directed in his first lead film role in 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' (1949). (Burton's professional stage debut had been in Williams' play "Druid's Rest," and Emyln Williams' son 'Brook Williams' became one of his life-long friends.) Williams was the godfather to his first daughter, 'Kate Burton', who is also an actress.

In addition to directing and acting in film, Emlyn Williams famously collaborated with the great director Alfred Hitchcock. Williams acted in and wrote additional dialog for both the original The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Jamaica Inn (1939).

Emlyn Williams wrote two memoirs, "George, An Early Autobiography" (1961), and "'Emlyn: An Early Autography, 1927-1935" (1974), as well as a 1967 non-fiction account of the Moors Murders entitled "Beyond Belief." His 1980 novel "Headlong" was adapted by David S. Ward into the movie "King Ralph" (1991). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962.

When he died in 1987, Emlyn Williams had written or co-written 20 screenplays in addition to his 20 plays. As an actor, he had appeared in 41 films and teleplays, plus made numerous appearances on stage.

Reviews

[Russell Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw, somewhere, a critic wrote that George, An Early Autobiography by Emlyn Williams is the best autobiography of a theater person ever. So I purchased a tattered fifty year old copy of the book and eagerly started reading. Williams was a celebrated actor and playwright (Night Must Fall, The Corn Is Green) of the early twentieth century. So I was expecting to be regaled with tales of his early stage career in London, with him dropping the names of the famous players of the 1920s and ‘30s. The key words in the title of this book, however, are “early autobiography.” Williams tells of his childhood in Wales, his schooling at Oxford, and finally ends with his first theatrical job as an actor. So there was very little famous name dropping. But reading his account of his life, one gets a sense of why he was a ticket-selling playwright. He has a vivid imagination, launching into countless fantasies, and is quite a scholar. His life story is engaging, and we are drawn into it and wish him well—all the time knowing that he did do well. At times, his Oxford relationships hint of homosexuality, so I researched and found that Williams did experiment with both homosexuality and bisexuality, eventually landing on a marriage which produced two sons. It is to his wife and sons he dedicates the book. I did find, at times, I got bogged down in the use of unfamiliar terms, some Welsh, some English. The book is very much anchored in Welsh and English traditions. And Williams also spends time in France, practicing his newly learned French. These passages, which are numerous, use so much French that I fear a reader not schooled in the language would be lost or have to have a French dictionary nearby. I called on my college French, studied almost as long ago as this book was written, and I managed to understand most of what was being said. That is a big flaw in the book, but it and the many unfamiliar Welsh and English customs actually serve to educate, and I came away from the book not only thoroughly entertained but also feeling as if I had a mini-course in early twentieth century Wales and England.