Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century

This is an excellent biographical read, about two of Hollywood's finest actors tempestuous relationship and the circle of people within their lives. After following the serialised account in The Mail, I was hooked on the story, and its focus on their relationship. You will read about their relationship and personalities that drove them to be truly and madly deeply in love.

I love classic movies but I rarely know much about the personal lives of the actors I admire; I am more interested in the art than the tinsel fame of Hollywood. But, I was instantly intrigued by the cover, title, and theme of Truly, Madly. I was actually mesmerized by the book! The instant passion between them that became a nightmare when Leigh’s bipolar disorder altered her beyond recognition, the tragedy of it all! These great artists created iconic roles while their private lives were rife with discord and distress. They were imperfect people who often made bad choices, and although one can esteem their stunning talent, they were very human and relatable in their vulnerabilities and psychological struggles. Although the book focuses on their relationship, it is also about their careers. Olivier was driven to perfection, becoming far more charming on screen than in real life. Leigh was intelligent and well educated, an amazing actress, but with limitations. Both suffered childhood trauma, leaving them with huge needs .Leigh’s parents sent her from her childhood home in India to a Catholic school, separated from the life and family she knew. It was a harsh and lonely life for a child. Olivier’s father was a poor priest who left a country parish for the London slums. His beloved mother died when he was a teenager. Olivier married, perhaps not for love. Leigh became “liberal with her affections” but married a rather dull, older man. Ten months later she had a daughter, and ten months after that, while at the theater she saw Olivier and she told a friend “That’s the man I’m going to marry.” Olivier later saw Leigh in her first stage success. They met, and their relationship escalated to a secret, passionate affair. Olivier felt guilty, but even his wife admitted that Olivier and Leigh had the kind of passion she had only seen a few times in her life. It took years before Leigh was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Until then, she was held accountable for her behavior, as if she had a choice or control. The scenes of her behavior while ill is heartbreaking. I have known several people with family members with bipolar disease and have a greater appreciation for the challenges they have faced. Galloway draws from many sources, and includes insights and stories from the Olivier’s friends and peers. Learning about how the actors were treated by Hollywood and directors, and their personal demons while creating iconic roles, will inform my reaction to their movies in the future. After their divorce, Leigh still loved Olivier. She died of untreated tuberculosis. Olivier’s third marriage lasted until his death. I received a fee egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

The last time I read a biography of anyone was probably when it was required reading in high school. But 2022 is the year of new books for Queen B, so a biography of a love story sounded like a perfect addition to my TBR. Truly, Madly is the story of classic film stars Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Their story felt like a real-life romance novel…except we then see the parts that we don’t always see in fiction. As much as Truly, Madly was about their intense and passionate love for each other, there was so much more that cannot be ignored. Ambition, ego, jealousy, and mental health, Truly, Madly focused on so much more than their romance. It was well written and heavily researched, and including their letters and quotes of others made it feel more realistic—as if I was there with them as it occurred. The in-depth exploration of Vivien’s mental illness, later to be diagnosed as bipolar disorder, was so interesting and heartbreaking at the same time. How gut wrenching it must be to realize that the sparkle and brilliance that once drew Olivier in, was the same reason of the distance between them at the end. Truly, Madly didn’t end with the happy ending that fiction would have given us, and that makes it even more profoundly sad, and yet, it’s memorable. I might have to revisit more biographies in the future. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the review copy!

What a shoddy cut-and-paste effort. Anyone, like me, who grew up with the Oliviers, and enjoyed them on stage and screen, will find this a plodding effort full of faux pas, innuendo and guesswork. A major disappointment!!