GEORGE: An Early Autobiography

by Emlyn Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 11, 1962

Report repeated from the December 1st bulletin, when scheduled for earlier publication. It has been postponed as the Book-of-the-Month Club selection for May which will assure wider attention. ""This is an intimate record of the youth of the Welsh playwright-actor which brings him to his first appearance before professional footlights. Son of a housemaid and a stoker, he knew a lonely childhood in Flintshire, finding escape in imaginary projections and in reading (where the English language presented peculiar misunderstandings) and the conflict between his Mam and Dad drove him deeper into his enclosed worlds. Alone even when he achieved the county school, he was wakened to exertion and interest by the no-nonsense of Miss Cooke who, in promoting his ability in French, was the means of his studying in France, and, eventually, his acceptance at Oxford, where all that was theatrical became his particular province. The recall here is prodigious, the detail overwhelming and the association with Miss Cooke provide the sturdy roots of his play. The Corn Scenes, incidents, characters, the break between his home and his and his constant escape pattern develop a fascinating identity search. This is much more than a career history, it is more exactly an absorbing performance.

Pub Date: April 11, 1962

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1962

Categories: NONFICTION