About this item
Highlights
- In 1988 Dirk Bogarde returned from two idyllic decades in France to live in England because of his partner's serious illness.
- About the Author: Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist.
- 356 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts
Description
Book Synopsis
In 1988 Dirk Bogarde returned from two idyllic decades in France to live in England because of his partner's serious illness. Shortly afterwards, the then Literary Editor of the Daily Telegraph, admiring the 'lucid frankness' of Bogarde's memoirs, invited him to review some books for the newspaper. Over the next eight years or so, Bogarde wrote much of the criticism, essays, obituaries, fragments of autobiography and appreciations which are collected in this volume - a body of work that offers fascinating insights into the life, mind and views of one of Britain's most admired authors and actors.
Perhaps the central piece in the book is the now-famous article 'A Short Walk from Harrods', which Bogarde wrote for the Independent on Sunday soon after returning to London. In it he describes what it feels like to walk among familiar ghosts and to dine with those he considers 'the living dead'. A momentous review of three Holocaust books is accompanied by an article in which he describes the extraordinary postbag he received from its readers. In another piece which had a profound impact, he gives forceful vent to his support for euthanasia. With a specially written introduction and new reflections on several of the pieces, For the Time Being, first published in 1998, brings together virtually all the work of Dirk Bogarde published outside his novels and autobiographies. It stands as a testimony to a wonderfully varied life, a wide range of interests and sympathies, and a remarkable gift for writing.Review Quotes
"Such a companionable writer you just don't want to let him go" --The Times
About the Author
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death In Venice. As well as completing six novels, Bogarde wrote several volumes of autobiography.
Between 1947 and 1991, Bogarde made more than sixty films. For over two decades he lived in Italy and France, where he began to write seriously. In 1985 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of St Andrews and in 1990 was promoted to Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.