Erotic Vagrancy: Everything about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
£25.50£28.50 (-11%)
‘The book of the year’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘One of the very best biographies I have ever read’ STEPHEN FRY
‘A hot thunderstorm of a book’ DAVID HARE
‘Erotic Vagrancy gave me a week of pure joy’ CRAIG BROWN
‘Unputdownable’ TONY PALMER
‘A genius writer’ LYNN BARBER
Thirteen years in the writing, Erotic Vagrancy doesn’t only surpass every other biography of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton yet to appear, this rich, vital and passionately articulated book, which is as extravagant and wayward as its two subjects, is also about celebrity, creativity, being flawed, being brilliant, sexuality, the intermingling of a low and a highbrow existence, pride, insecurity, attraction and repulsion, and devilry.
We see Taylor the child actress exchanging dogs and horses for husbands. We see Burton emerging from the mists and brimstone of Wales to be the greatest theatrical animal of his generation. The pair come together in Rome during the making of Cleopatra, which gives Lewis the opportunity for a major farcical set-piece. We then enter a world of jewels and private jets, vodka, yachts and furs – the splendid vulgarity of the Sixties, where the narrative of Taylor and Burton becomes a Pop Art story.
Then, inevitably, it all goes wrong, with alcoholism, violence, recrimination and divorce ( twice ) – with Burton, whom Lewis depicts as a Faustus figure, damned by fame, dead at fifty-eight.
Stephen Fry has said, ‘It is one of the very best biographies I have ever read. One of the best books about fame, desire, Hollywood and mid-to-late twentieth century culture ever written. Inside which, brilliant, hilarious and sensitive insights on all manner of subjects fizz and froth. Magnificent, terrible, tragic, triumphant.’
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Additional information
| Publisher | riverrun (26 Oct. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 656 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0857381725 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0857381729 |
| Dimensions | 16.4 x 5.6 x 23.6 cm |
by Georgia Gatsby
Roger Lewis has shaken up the conventional biography and created something new. Yes, there’s narrative but he knows his subjects so well that he frequently weaves together unexpected threads that result in fresh, genuine insights. This is the kind of book that leaves an indelible impression – not like the overwhelming majority of celeb biogs. I now feel I almost know Burton and Taylor. It’s also a sheer pleasure to read a book that’s so well-written, laced with Lewis humour and occasionally poetic (brilliant on Burton and Wales.) Hats off!
by Beth Dean
Easily one of the greatest biographies ever written. Totally captivating. It’s a genuine masterpiece. You can confidently ignore anyone that says otherwise. It is a very powerful and very entertaining insight into their lives, character, old Hollywood and the unbridled decadence of it all. My wife and I have been recommending it to everyone! It should be made into a HBO miniseries. 10/10
by Imhotep
I thought I’d be getting rafts of bon mots from Roddy McDowall and the rest of the girls, he played Liz Taylor’s manager/adorer/love interest on the Love Boat, even as an 11 year old that struck me as unconvincing and worthy now of a laugh. Instead we get cross referencing of minutiae about misreferencing in other Burton/Taylor bios with Roddy popping up now and again. Did somebody really confuse the names of Burton’s last and second last wives, seriously who cares.How could the author have turned up the opportunity for a rollicking double bio of these two cartoons in favour of a dreary dredge through the lesser known bits of Richard Burton’s appearances on the BBC. Don’t believe the good reviews in the papers, I think they’re more likely an endorsement of the character of the author than if the book. I also suspect that Burton is the author’s real obsession when it was only Liz made him interesting. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
by Philip Kemp
Was so looking forward to reading this…am about a third of the way through it and I don’t think I can finish it. Bounces from one decade to the next then back again. Tries to compare various parts of their lives to characters they’ve played over the years…it’s all over the place and makes no sense?? I can’t make out what’s fact or fiction… if you’re looking forward to a year by year account of their lives forget it!!
by caroline
I have never read a book like this, and as soon as I finished it, I began reading it again. The whole conceit..that you can find Liz and Richard through their films, not merely by reading biography has changed my way of thinking, and reading. As the author points out, the couple weren’t celebrities..they were stars, and that’s a different matter altogether. The book has inspired me to look at their more obscure films and to reappraise each one in light of the insights offered in the book. I watched the VIP’s at the weekend and X, Y and Zee was last night’s treat. The author writes with a certain genius..a great ear and with some glorious bits of colloquialism and humour that made me laugh out loud. If there are parts that are harder to get into these would more often relate to the films I’ve not seen, but that’s the catalyst for further viewing. After reading this book I feel I have come to understand and appreciate Elizabeth and Richard in ways I had not before. This is a seriously brilliant book..if you want to experience what it felt like to be them, or to be there, in Rome, or on the set, or in the bedroom…this is the book to read. It’s a book for people who can appreciate and revel in superb writing. Bravo Mr Lewis.
by Imhotep
This is a long book – too long, some might think – but it unfailingly holds the attention with the raunchiness and vigour of the writing, and the uninhibited outrageousness of its twin subject-matters. Not only its two chief protagonists, but countless other individuals (thespians mainly, of course) come in for Lewis’s wicked sideswipes. Endlessly quotable.
by pingufreddy
This reads like it was written in the middle of a fever dream. It’s very self-referential with lots of Anthony Burgess style made up words (“fossicking” anyone?) and is just really tedious to slog through. Too much and too little all at the same time.
by Beth Dean
It’s a chunky book but I saw it was a book of the week in the Observer and I wanted to read something different and I am so glad I did. I honestly raced through it and was sad when it ended! It’s separated into sections, each focusing on something different and within those sections are brilliantly told side stories of actors or actresses in that time that are honestly just hilarious. I actually laughed when he compared Michael Sheen to a flying squirrel (honestly in context that’s a compliment) there’s a million quips from Lewis that make the writing so enjoyable to read. I really can’t recommend it enough it’s the best book I’ve read in a long while.