Errol Flynn - an Epic Life by Kevin Mcaleer

Errol Flynn - an Epic Life by Kevin Mcaleer

Poetry. Literary Nonfiction. Biography. The basic drama with Errol Flynn was that he had everything--looks, charm, talent, intelligence, and a huge following of devoted fans and willing women. He was the classic image of a swashbuckling hero and romantic lover. That which other men merely fantasized about, Flynn did with style and dash, living in a way which surpassed any film he ever made. But somewhere on the road to movie immortality he embarked on a destructive lifestyle that wrecked his career and ultimately killed him. Why did it happen? What were the forces at work in this complex individual whose own father regarded him as an enigma?

Kevin McAleer is not the first author to wend his way through the maze of myth and falsehood that comprises Flynn's legend, but no one has yet attempted an epic narrative of his life in verse. Flynn's ghostwriter for his memoir My Wicked, Wicked Ways called him one of the most poetic men I have ever met, and McAleer holds the view that biographies and other accounts of Flynn have failed to capture his verve and essential spirit, which had greater affinity to an age of high-flown lyricism than to our own prosaic times. Flynn himself was fond of claiming that he'd been born into the wrong century, so McAleer is taking him at his word and recounting his saga in the same way as did English balladeers the tale of Robin Hood--Flynn's most memorable screen incarnation.

In detailing Flynn's life, McAleer draws inspiration from Lord Byron's playful and jocose Don Juan, whose stanza form he employs. Flynn was not only the embodiment of Byronic romanticism but one of the twentieth century's great libertines, having also assumed the title role in the 1948 Hollywood film Adventures of Don Juan, so it is only fitting that the roguish ottava rima stanza be used in recounting his life. This is poetry for people who think they don't like poetry and for all those who enjoy dishy movie-star bios and a gusto-filled romp.

McAleer, Kevin: - Kevin McAleer grew up in Los Angeles, received his doctorate in history from the University of California, and now lives as a writer and translator in Berlin. His stories and essays have appeared in both German and American periodicals. Notable among his books are the epic poem ERROL FLYNN: AN EPIC LIFE (PalmArtPress 2018), which eminent film critic Rex Reed praised as a daring adventure in biographical refurbishment, and the historical monograph DUELING: THE CULT OF HONOR IN FIN-DE-SIü¾Ž†Œ¼CLE GERMANY (Princeton Legacy Library 2014), a social portrait of duelists in Imperial Germany which The Wall Street Journal commended as vivid and appalling and the Encyclopaedia Britannica acclaimed one of its Books of the Year.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9783962580056
ISBN 10	3962580050
Title	Errol Flynn - an Epic Life
Author	Kevin Mcaleer
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Palmartpress
Year published	2018-07-02
Number of pages	396
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.