The Kenneth Williams Letters
Published on 1. July 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-00-729192-2 (ISBN)
Description
Following the bestselling publication of THE KENNETH WILLIAMS DIARIES, the devastating self-portrait of one of our most loved and complex performers is completed with this marvellous selection of his letters.
This is a wonderful treasure trove of correspondence with all manner of people, including Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, Joe Orton, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and the Stokers' Mess of HMS Leverton. Kenneth Williams took letters very seriously, and he was always disgusted by a morning that failed to provide him with some material to pore over.
Letters called forth the performer in Williams in a way that his diaries never did: many of them are virtual comic monologues, and in general they suggest more strongly than the diaries the likeable and constructive side of a man who remains, nevertheless, as outrageous and 'difficult' as ever.
This is a wonderful treasure trove of correspondence with all manner of people, including Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, Joe Orton, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and the Stokers' Mess of HMS Leverton. Kenneth Williams took letters very seriously, and he was always disgusted by a morning that failed to provide him with some material to pore over.
Letters called forth the performer in Williams in a way that his diaries never did: many of them are virtual comic monologues, and in general they suggest more strongly than the diaries the likeable and constructive side of a man who remains, nevertheless, as outrageous and 'difficult' as ever.
Reviews / Votes
'Endlessly absorbing... all the letters can be read and reread with such pleasure... scintillating'A. N. Wilson, Times Literary Supplement
'His superb instinct for comedy is revealed time and again'
Jonathan Coe, Spectator
'Fascinating... the camp fire crackles merrily'
George Melly, Sunday Times
'A big dipper, full of acid drops and high rises, and it doesn't matter where you start or finish - that's the joy of it... rarely have I read a collection of letters of such broad scope in terms of their content and the diversity of their recipients'
Barry Cryer, Mail on Sunday
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
8 b/w plates
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
363 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-729192-2 (9780007291922)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Kenneth Williams | Russell Davies
The Kenneth Williams Letters
Book
11/1998
HarperCollins
€31.13
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
/Editor:
Russell Davies, who also edited The Kenneth Williams Diaries, is a freelance writer and broadcaster. A former film and TV critic of the Observer and TV critic of the Sunday Times, he has also written a column on sport for the Sunday Telegraph. He has presented many literary and political features on TV and radio (including a history of radio comedy).
Russell Davies, who also edited The Kenneth Williams Diaries, is a freelance writer and broadcaster. A former film and TV critic of the Observer and TV critic of the Sunday Times, he has also written a column on sport for the Sunday Telegraph. He has presented many literary and political features on TV and radio (including a history of radio comedy).