My Father Laurence Olivier

‘What we have lost with Laurence Olivier is glory.’

My Father Laurence Olivier is a touching account of a son’s idolisation of his father -- one of the greatest actors ever to have graced both the British stage and Hollywood’s screens.

In revealing detail it tells the story of Olivier's breakthrough on the stage to the legendary screen performances that made him a global star. From roles such as Henry V and Hamlet to Heathcliff and Max de Winter in Hitchcock’s Rebecca, Olivier became one of the world's most celebrated personalities.

But in real life Olivier was as troubled and brooding as he was on screen.

In unflinching detail, his son details his youthful marriage to Tarquin’s mother, Jill, and its subsequent breakdown after she fell pregnant, as well as describing his passionate but tumultuous relationship with another great star of the era, Vivien Leigh

With snippets from letters sent to Vivien, Jill and Tarquin over the years and first-hand accounts from family members, My Father Laurence Olivier tells the fascinating life-story of one of the most revered actors of all time.

'A remarkably candid book that will cause every biography of Laurence Olivier to be revised. Written with vivid recall, critical insight and narrative skill.' - Alexander Walker, Evening Standard.

'Tarquin captures his father's gaiety, his rococo speech, his shameless showmanship, his rude remarks about other actors and his schoolboy humour.' - Lynn Barber, The Independent.

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