Victoria AmadorOlivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant (Screen Classics)

I personally did not like this book. I gave it 4 stars because Olivia herself worked with the author and approved this book. But I wish that Olivia had written her own book because it might have been less about feminism and more about Olivia's memories. The author's critique of Olivia's films were unnecessary; I didn't care about her opinions. I waited years for Olivia to write her memoirs and this was disappointing. Out of respect for Olivia, I gave this book 4 stars.

Well researched. Good read. A lot of book with many good photos. Chapters nicely developed and spaced apart to make sense of the ladies life.

Perhaps the most astonishing fact about “Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant” is that it is the first comprehensive study of one of Hollywood’s most accomplished, pivotal and enduring actors. We’ve seen books about her relationship with her sister; books about her films with Errol Flynn; and books about her films. Victoria Amador’s achievement is that she brings all of these strands together AND examines the previously unexamined aspects of de Havilland’s life and career AND shines new light on the areas other scholars have already studied. It’s important to note that, although a personal friend of the great lady, Amador doesn’t pull any punches. Where the lady made unfortunate career choices (“The Adventurers” jumps to mind), Amador questions those moves and offers insight into the personal and industry dynamics that may have informed them. I would also argue that Amador’s long friendship with de Havilland is an essential strength of the book, as the author is able to cite their extensive correspondence and bring forward a different “voice” than we hear from de Havilland in interviews and in her own published work. I wonder what de Havilland will think of this book; she is highly protective of her image, after all. However, I hope she will appreciate “Lady Triumphant” as a serious, thoughtful, thorough effort to understand its subject and advance her legacy.

Having waiting a long time for a book solely about Olivia de Havilland, I was excited when I heard about this book and anxious to read it. Overall, it was pretty good, but not exceptional and not the end-all and be-all I was expecting. My main criticism is that the actual biography without appendixes is only 260 pages for such a long life. If the synopsis of each movie was deleted from the body of the work, it would then be another 20% shorter. Granted, Olivia de Havilland was a private person and protective of her image; so much in the news probably could not be found about her. If the author had not befriended her, the book would not only be shorter again, but probably not written at all. Much is written about the author's meetings and conversations with Olivia and the good times they had together. Having said all that, my interest in the book picked up after the introduction of her French husband. If you love Olivia, you’ll probably enjoy this. But I didn’t learn much I didn’t know already, except for a little about her rivalry with her sister, actress Joan Fontaine. I am hoping but not holding my breath for an autobiography, which may be released by her family that she was supposedly writing. Other than that, this book is probably all you’re going to get about the life of the beautiful Oliva de Havilland.

If you are a fan of Miss De Havilland this is the book to read. By a author who got to know the subject well. A book that talks about her films with Flynn and part of Melaine in GWTW. Her fight with Warner Brothers and her problems with her sister Joan.

This was a quick fun read . Gives you a good idea of what and who she was. Also shows you what the film industry was about.

Last week, I found myself suffering from a bout of insomnia. My husband offered to read me to sleep, with this book, written by my dear friend Victoria Amador. I still couldn’t drift away; her writing is like music, lyrical and lovely. What a treat this is going to be!

Fluff but who cares if you are a devoted fan . Excessive description that is really trivial , but nuggets of interest that keep one reading. Obsessive fan so take that into consideration.

O livro é escrito por uma fã ardorosa que baseia uma atriz e a confunde com os personagens criados por ela na tela. alem disso, tem o chatissimo recurso de descrever o enredo de todos os filmes como se eles fizessem parte da vida da retratada. Desculpa a atriz pela má escolha de repertório, desconhece suas limitações como interprete e por fim nos dá um retrato de como a atriz gostaria de ser vista pelo seu publico. O livro é repetitivo e só tem uma ou duasfotos interessantes.

Just for the cover it's worth the price. The photographs inside the book are very less and disappointing especially when they could've added lots of great pictures of de Havilland both from her movies and from promotions.