Lives and Loves of Laurie Lee

Description

Laurie Lee was a towering figure in twentieth century British literature, seeming to bridge a gap between the Victorian and the post-war experience; the pastoral and the urbane. Millions of readers read and loved the lyrical account of his Gloucestershire boyhood, immortalised in Cider with Rosie. They also thrilled to the travels of the young Lee through Spain, playing the fiddle before being caught up in the Spanish Civil War. When he returned home, he spent almost the rest of his life writing about these youthful adventures. He was a poet, a playwright and a broadcaster, his books became classics, and he was devoted to two women: his wife and his daughter, "the firstborn". Publicly, he fostered the Laurie Lee legend. But behind his locked study door, in the letters and diaries he left, lay the revealing clues to his private pain and passion.

Valerie Grove is a journalist and biographer. She has written interviews and features mainly for the Sunday Times, The Times and the Evening Standard for more than 40 years; and biographies of Dodie Smith, Sir John Mortimer and Kaye Webb. She has four grown-up children and lives in London.

'Laurie Lee's virtues far outweighed his faults, and it is Grove's obvious affection for her subject that makes her book so tender and graceful ... a touching elegy to another age.' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday "A gloriously romantic new book." Daily Mail "[An] exemplary biography." Boyd Tonkin, The Independent "In this centenary year of Lee's birth, Valerie Grove's warm-hearted but unflinching biography is very welcome. It is a timely reminder not only of Lee's changeable character and later achievements as a man of letters, but of his complex relationships." The Times "Grove's biography, The Life and Loves of Laurie Lee, gives a rare insight into not only the man himself but also all the characters around the writer who created the poems, screenplays and novels - she has endeavored to capture the essence of Lee and has brought him to life once more." West Country Life "[A] superbly rich biography." Sunday Herald "[A] brilliantly researched and evocatively written biography." Camden New Journal "Excellent and utterly compelling biography - Grove does a brilliant job of bringing both Lee and his times to life; I was completely enthralled." The Star "Excellent biography - Includes new correspondence with fascinating details about Lee's countless love affairs and liaisons - An enthralling read." Absolutely Chelsea