John G - The Authorised Biography of John Gielgud

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2001. A Fine unmarked copy with Fine dustjacket which is not price clipped. First Edition, First Printing. xvii + 510 pages. 51 illustrations. In a career spanning almost eighty years on stage, screen, radio and television, he effectively reinvented Shakespeare for the modern stage; he was the first great Hamlet of our time; wih his brother Val he virtually created BBC radio drama; decades before the founding of the National Theatre or the RSC, he pioneered the idea of a resident classical company in London's West End. He made stars of Alec Guinness and Paul Scofield as well as hundreds of other actors, directors and designers; from Peter Brook to Peter Greenaway, he worked with all the revolutionary artists of his time. The great-nephew of Ellen Terry, Sir John was the bridge from the 19th to the 20th century, and was the founder and last survivor of a group of classical actors - Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, Peggy Ashcroft, Sybil Thorndike and Edith Evans - such as the world had never seen and will never see again. 12 years before his death, John Gielgud invited Sheridan Morley to become his only authorised biographer. NOTE - A HEAVY VOLUME OF 0.95 KILO UNPACKED WEIGHT WHICH MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL SHIPPING COST 24. First. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.