True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess (Thomas Dunne Books) | 
 enlarge | Author: Wendy Leigh
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 306606
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0312381948
Dewey Decimal Number: 944.949
EAN: 9780312381943
ASIN: 0312381948
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Grace Kelly’s death, New York Times bestselling author Wendy Leigh has written a haunting celebration of a life that ended far too soon, starring a heroine whose dramatic, star-crossed story is both tragic and inspiring.
Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco, the legendary Hollywood screen siren Grace Kelly, is an American icon whose beauty is unrivaled, and whose oft-imitated aristocratic style and cool elegance have never been eclipsed.
Over the course of three years’ research, Wendy Leigh gained unprecedented access to more than one hundred sources who had never talked about Grace before, including nine of her until-now undisclosed romances (among them an English aristocrat, an American tennis player, and a Hollywood legend), her priest friend, Father Peter Jacobs, and Bernard Combemal, the former head of the S.B.M., the consortium that dominates Monaco.
Providing new details about Grace’s life, including her premarital romantic swan song that took place during her voyage to Monaco, Leigh also reveals the hitherto untold story of her troubled relationship with bridesmaid Carolyn Reybold, and the moving story of her lifelong relationship with actor David Niven.
True Grace paints a compelling portrait of the ambitious young actress, the dutiful princess who transformed the principality of Monaco into a jet-set haven, the kind-hearted philanthropist, the loving mother, and Grace, the patriotic American. Wendy Leigh has written True Grace not for readers who wish to view Grace Kelly as a saint but for those who, like Leigh herself, believe she was a strong and beautiful woman.
Book Description
Grace Kelly's story is the quintessential America saga--the story of a radiantly beautiful girl born of immigrants--the daughter of a self-made millionaire--who grew up to become the wife of a Prince of royal blood, the mother of two princesses, and a son who is the ruler of the glittering yet sinister principality that is Monaco.
Beautiful, elegant and mysterious, Grace Kelly captivated the world for decades. But as Wendy Leigh records, her life--while sometimes magical--had more than its share of loss and unhappiness. Leigh recounts an era when a pretty girl could dream of becoming a movie star almost overnight and go on to be an honest-to-God Princess; she also records the dark side of Grace Kelly's life. From her premonition of her death in a car crash to her never-before-revealed affair with David Niven, Wendy Leigh approaches Grace Kelly's life with compassion and care, especially in light of Grace's human flaws.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
Snack Food for the Gossip-Hungry Reader June 25, 2008
Well, Leigh made have promised her publisher that she would not do a "warmed over" treatment of her subject, but that is exactly how this book comes across. She is proud to make the point that she interviewed over a hundred new sources who were willing to speak on the record about Grace, and even prouder of the fact that she was able to disclose fifteen of her sexual affairs that had never been made public before. (As if that matters.) There were only a few revelations here that caught my attention, like the fact that Grace had a tumble with the husband of one of her bridesmaids and then confessed all--leading to the complete decline of that poor woman's life--and a discussion of the extremely cruel side of Alfred Hitchcock's personality. There was virtually no discussion about Grace's death and too little examination of her complicated relationships with Rainier and the children. Also, there are regrettably few pictures in this book, most of them being publicity shots.
Finally, there is too much emphasis on what seems to be extraneous. One appendix is devoted to Grace's horoscope, and another concentrates on analyzing her handwriting. Leigh also emphasizes in an epilogue about writing the book that she stayed in many of the same hotels that Grace once did, allowing her to "experience and understand her world." But did that contribute to a better book? I don't think so. For a much deeper look into the life of this beloved but controversial princess, read Randy Taraborrelli's 2003 work, Once Upon a Time.
 Too much dirt and not enough about what Grace was really like March 25, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is probably the 6th biography of Grace Kelly that I have read and I felt that it was easily the weakest. In fairness to Wendy Leigh, she had clearly conducted her own research and she did present some new stories and anecdotes. However it felt like she was more pre-occupied with digging up new scandals than with presenting a cohesive picture of who Grace was. She glosses over significant events such as Grace meeting Rainier, why she decided to marry him and barely mentions Grace's death. Instead we get an obsession with every sexual relationship that Grace may or may not have had.
While the book gives the impression of being well researched, when I looked up some of the footnotes it appeared that at least some of these claims were based purely on the word of someone who was the friend of a friend of someone who was now deceased. In a case like that, I feel that a reputable biographer should make it more evident that these are alleged rather than proven facts.
Leigh implies that Grace had a fling with a Paris Match photographer on the ship sailing to Monaco for her wedding. Putting aside the fact that the evidence that this ever occurred is more than weak, if it were true (as Leigh insinuates), it raises all manner of questions about what that says about Grace's feelings towards Rainier and her upcoming wedding. None of those questions are dealt with. The implication throughout is that Grace never particularly loved Rainier and that she was unhappy in her marriage from start to finish. Based on the other books that I have read, this is an over-simplified and unlikely version of events.
Here's a summary of the book: Grace Kelly was a successful actress who had a lot of affairs, sometimes with more than one person at a time. She looked very pretty in all her movies, even though she didn't like her jawline. She decided to marry Prince Rainier even though she didn't love him and she had a last fling only days before the wedding. She was very homesick after the wedding and Rainier started cheating on her almost immediately. She had several more affairs herself, including one with the husband of a friend. She was very unhappy. Some people thought she was icy and some people thought she was warm and friendly. She always believed she'd die in a car crash but she drove her car anyway and then she died.
Doesn't Deliver the Goods March 19, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
best thing about this book is the cover photo. Poorly organized, piece-meal presentation with little new material.
Proofreader/editor needed December 31, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Some new and interesting material, but I was distracted by the many misspelled words and grammatical errors - needed a good proofreader, not just spellcheck. Also irritating was quoting someone only by a first name, when no one with that name had yet been introduced into the story. Also would have benefitted from a lot more photos. I also think that Grace's charity work got a bit short-changed.
A good book, but disappointing December 23, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read, but I agree with those who say that it does have its flaws. There were many typos, words left out of sentences, and sentences that could have been structured better. Any good proofreader would have spotted those things. Also, for a person who led as full a life as Grace Kelly did, the picture section was sorely lacking. I have always admired her, and the book was very imformative, but it could have been better.
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