Reframing Vivien Leigh

"Reframing Vivien Leigh takes a fresh new look at one of the twentieth century's most iconic stars. Focussing on Vivien Leigh as a distinctly archival subject, the book draws upon original oral history work with curators, archivists and fan collectives and extensive research within a network of official and unofficial archives around the world to produce alternative stories about her place within film history. The study examines an intriguing variety of historical correspondence, costume, scripts, photography, props and memorabilia in order to reframe the dominant narratives that have surrounded her life and career. Whilst Leigh's glamour, collaborations with Laurence Olivier and mental health form important coordinates for any study of the star, the book foregrounds a range of alternative contexts which foreground her creative agency, examining her off-screen labor in areas such as theatrical training, adaptation, war work, producing, protesting and interactions with her fan base"--