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9781451627701

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I read Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations in a delirious gulp. It is absolutely terrific. I couldn't put it down. Gardner comes across as a flamboyant but tragic figure who always spoke the truth no matter how painful. And the way writer Peter Evans has shaped their conversations is truly remarkable. --Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman

An unvarnished account of [Gardner's] marriages and affairs in golden-age Hollywood. . . . Give[s] a vivid sense of Gardner's salty, no-BS personality. . . . Juicy. --Kirkus Reviews Jaw-dropping anecdotes about film legends and the studio system in its heyday make this an irresistible read. . . . Gardner is funny and frank, and Evans's diligence makes the book not only one of the more revealing celebrity autobiographies published recently, but a candid glimpse into the world of a ghostwriter, star handler, and late-night confidante. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Her story is a raw-nerved revelation. . . . A vivid portrait of Gardner. --Jeanine Basinger Chicago Tribune A bristling look at Hollywood attitudes and sexual manners. --David Denby The New Yorker [Makes] you feel as if you're eavesdropping. . . . Watching this Venus ply her mind games, sensuality and stubborn will on [her coauthor, Peter] Evans, it's easy to imagine what it was like to be a love object jerked on her marionette strings in her prime. You wouldn't have a chance. --Maureen Dowd The New York Times Book Review A complete delight. . . . [Gardner's] quotes exude the musk of a woman supremely indifferent to the social proprieties and expectations of her era. . . . Hers is the heartbreaking memoir of the ultimate heartbreaker. --Carrie Rickey Philadelphia Inquirer Profane, freewheeling. . . . Earthy, uncensored. . . . A tough and provocative look into the life of the compelling temptress who, though bruised, managed to stay afloat. --Sandra McElwaine Washington Times As a siren, [Gardner] held her own with [Marilyn] Monroe. And to judge by Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations, Gardner was a more interesting woman. . . . A little jewel of a book. --Harry Levins St. Louis Post-Dispatch I read Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations in a delirious gulp. It is absolutely terrific. I couldn't put it down. Gardner comes across as a flamboyant but tragic figure who always spoke the truth no matter how painful. And the way writer Peter Evans has shaped their conversations is truly remarkable. --Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman

I read <i>Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations </i>in a delirious gulp. It is absolutely terrific. I couldn't put it down. Gardner comes across as a flamboyant but tragic figure who always spoke the truth no matter how painful. And the way writer Peter Evans has shaped their conversations is truly remarkable. --Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman

A bristling look at Hollywood attitudes and sexual manners. --David Denby The New Yorker

Author Information

Peter Evans was a columnist and foreign correspondent with the Daily Express (UK), and wrote for the Los Angeles Times and Vogue, as well as every major newspaper in Britain. His books include Peter Sellers: The Man Behind the Mask and Nemesis. He died in 2012. Ava Gardner was born in Grabtown, North Carolina, in 1922. Her films include The Killers, Showboat, Mogambo, The Barefoot Contessa, The Sun Also Rises, and On the Beach. She died in London in 1990.

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