Vivien

Vivien Leigh is best known as the former Mrs. Laurence Olivier; the beautiful but willful Scarlett O'Hara; and the fading southern belle with a tenuous grip on reality, Blanche Du Bois. In life and on the screen, these were her public roles. Walker's excellent biography fills the gaps, giving insights into her private life-into what it must have been like to be Vivien Leigh. Walker (author of Garbo: A Portrait, CH, Mar '81; Dietrich, 1984; and Bette Davis: A Celebration, 1986) is a careful researcher who managed to win the confidence of the right people. His interview subjects include Vivien Leigh's only daughter, Suzanne Farrington; her first agent, John Glidden; and her last husband, Jack Merivale. Vivien is personal without being excessively gossipy, and informative without being pedantic. Walker's book should delight film-goers, theater-goers, and readers curious about prominent people. Leigh's achievements were many, but her personality had its darker side; even her 20 years as half of Britain's reigning theatrical couple ``the Oliviers'' took its toll on her physical and mental health. Amply supplied with photographs of the actress at all stages of her life, Vivien is an engaging book about an engaging figure. Undergraduates and general readers.- J.L. Cohen, Los Angeles County Museum of Art