Greta and Cecil by Diana Souhami

Greta and Cecil by Diana Souhami

Greta Garbo first met society photographer Cecil Beaton in Hollywood in 1932. Both were caught in turbulent same-sex affairs. Yet Garbo flirted and danced with Beaton, told him he was pretty, presented him with 'a rose that lives and dies and never again returns' and at dawn drove away in her black Packard. Cecil took the rose home to England, framed it in silver and hung it above his bed. Fifteen years later Greta and Cecil met again. For her it was an idle flirtation. For him it fuelled his ambition to photograph her, to be like her and to marry her - an obsession that became a betrayal. Souhami draws on diaries, memoirs, letters, photographs and films to reveal the truth behind this fascinating and narcissistic relationship.

'Compelling reading' Literary Review* Literary Review *
'Diana Souhami has conveyed an almost palpable impression in this book of the enchantment of Garbo's beauty' Mail on Sunday. * Mail on Sunday *
'Souhami sculpts the narrative to reflect her elegant ideas on the worship of images, the blurring of boundaries in love and art, and the riddle that is androgyny' Observer. * Observer *

Diana Souhami is the author of Selkirk's Island (winner of the Whitbread Biography award), The Trials of Radclyffe Hall (shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Biography and winner of the US Lambda Literary Award), the bestselling Mrs Keppel and Her Daughter (also winner of the Lambda Literary Award and a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'). Her latest book is Murder at Wrotham Hill. She lives in London and Devon.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781780878867
ISBN 10	1780878869
Title	Greta and Cecil
Author	Diana Souhami
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Quercus Publishing
Year published	2013-03-28
Number of pages	352
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.