Anne Edwards

From the New York Times bestselling biographer Anne Edwards comes the irresistible true story of the lives and loves of the great opera diva, Maria Callas. Maria Callas continues to mesmerize us decades after her death, not only because she was indisputably the greatest opera diva of the 20th century, but also because both her life and death were shrouded in a Machiavellian web of scandal, mystery and deception. Now Anne Edwards, well known for...

This is the story of the actress who became a Hollywood legend by winning the coveted role of Scarlett O'Hara in “Gone with the Wind”, and whose circle included both theatrical and political celebrities, from Winston Churchill to Noel Coward, John Gielgud, and Marlon Brando. But behind the dazzling exterior lay the sinister shadow of another Vivien Leigh, a shadow which pursued her throughout her aristocratic upbringing, her frustrating first...

Edwards's biography presents a complete picture of the late actress, and not just the boozing, drug-addicted caricature of a woman central to lesser biographies. We learn, for example, that Garland saw it as her duty to provide for her family financially, a generosity that her mother Ethel exploited with disastrous results. Above all, Judy Garland sought to please, whether it was an audience or a studio head, and therein lies her powerful and heartbreaking...

He was an actor, newly divorced, whose controversial tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild was drawing more attention than his fading film career. She was a contract player at MGM, unmarried and rapidly growing too old to play the starlet. It was time, she decided, to settle down and become Mrs. Somebody Important. So, Nancy Davis contrived an introduction to Ronald Reagan, and the Reagans march into history began. “The Reagans: Portrait...

The life of Princess May of Teck is one of the great Cinderella stories in history. From a family of impoverished nobility, she was chosen by Queen Victoria as the bride for her eldest grandson, the scandalous Duke of Clarence, heir to the throne, who died mysteriously before their marriage. Despite this setback, she became queen, mother of two kings, grandmother of the current queen, and a lasting symbol of the majesty of the British throne. Her...