Product Description

When Sir Alec Guinness died in August 2000 at the age of 86, he left behind two exercise books filled with entries in his small, beautiful handwriting, together with a typed-up Introduction that suggests he planned to have the books published or broadcast in some way. Together they make up this commonplace book. The entries include passages from favourite poems and plays, theatrical anecdotes, stories overheard on the street, and the occasional short musing or reminiscence on a subject that has simply taken his fancy. Inevitably certain writers recur: Shakespeare, of course, the subject of a lifetime's study and love. Pepys, Kipling, R.S. Thomas and religious writers like Cardinal Newman and Simone Well. But here too are Woody Allen and John Updike, e.e. cummings and Barry Humphries. And some acerbic comments on certain contemporary television stars. The result is a charming book of wisdom and reflection, consolation and sheer pleasure, and one that offers an extraordinary insight into the mind of one of the great actors of the 20th century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #237267 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Review
'As charming and accomplished with words as he is in his best performances' Jonathan Cecil, Spectator

About the Author
Sir Alec Guinness was one of the outstanding actors of his generation, for both theatre and film. He wrote three bestselling volumes of memoirs, most recently A POSITIVELY FINAL APPEARANCE (1999). All three are available in Penguin. Sir Alec died in August 2000.