Read more
Sir Ronald Harwood (1934-2020) was one of the most prolific playwrights and screenwriters of his generation. His acclaimed play,
The Dresser, has been constantly revived since its premiere in 1980 and has been adapted for both cinema and television, most recently the 2015 BBC production starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen. Harwood's other notable film adaptations included Roman Polanski's haunting depiction of life in the Warsaw Ghetto,
The Pianist (2002), Baz Luhrmann's frontier epic,
Australia (2008), and Dustin Hoffman's poignant celebration of old age,
Quartet (2012). His many awards included an Oscar for
The Pianist and a BAFTA for
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007).
Speak Well of Me turns the focus onto Harwood himself. Based on extensive interviews with the playwright during his final years, the biography recounts Harwood's gradual transformation from lacklustre South African schoolboy to doyen of theatreland and Hollywood. While dissecting each of his major works, the book candidly explores Harwood's friendships with the likes of Harold Pinter, J. B. Priestley, André Previn, Sir Donald Wolfit (who inspired
The Dresser) and, most controversially, Roman Polanski. The result is a biography as gripping and morally complex as one of Harwood's own dramas.
This new paperback edition includes memoirs and assessments of Harwood by Gyles Brandreth, Sir Tom Courtenay, Lady Antonia Fraser, Frederic Raphael, Sir Antony Sher and the playwright's oldest friend, Gerald Masters.
List of contents
Introduction
Prologue
Act One: WALKING THE BOARDS
1.) A Man from the Colonies
2.) Uncle Lionel
3.) 'Clean My Boots!'
Act Two: A STAR IS BORN
4.) Early Magic
5.) 'Mine for the Asking'
Act Three: BEYOND OLYMPIA
6.) Show Business
7.) Man of Letters
INTERVAL
8.) The Good Companion
Act Four: SARTOR RESARTUS: The Tailor Retailored
9.) The Dresser
10.) With the Greats
Act Five: AUTUMN TRIUMPH
11.) The Pianist
12.) Arise, Sir Ronald
CURTAIN CALL
13.) At Home
Acknowledgements
Major Works By Ronald Harwood
Endnotes
Index
About the author
W. Sydney Robinson is the author of
Muckraker: The Scandalous Life and Times of W. T. Stead, Britain's First Investigative Journalist (2012), which was awarded the 'Political Biography of the Year' prize at the 2013 Total Politics Book Awards. He has also written
The Last Victorians: A Daring Reassessment of Four Twentieth Century Eccentrics (2014) and
Historic Affairs: The Muses of Sir Arthur Bryant (2021).
Summary
Sir Ronald Harwood (1934-2020) was one of the most prolific playwrights and screenwriters of his generation. His acclaimed play, The Dresser, has been constantly revived since its premiere in 1980 and has been adapted for both cinema and television, most recently the 2015 BBC production starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen. Harwood’s other notable film adaptations included Roman Polanski’s haunting depiction of life in the Warsaw Ghetto, The Pianist (2002), Baz Luhrmann’s frontier epic, Australia (2008), and Dustin Hoffman’s poignant celebration of old age, Quartet (2012). His many awards included an Oscar for The Pianist and a BAFTA for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007).
Speak Well of Me turns the focus onto Harwood himself. Based on extensive interviews with the playwright during his final years, the biography recounts Harwood’s gradual transformation from lacklustre South African schoolboy to doyen of theatreland and Hollywood. While dissecting each of his major works, the book candidly explores Harwood’s friendships with the likes of Harold Pinter, J. B. Priestley, André Previn, Sir Donald Wolfit (who inspired The Dresser) and, most controversially, Roman Polanski. The result is a biography as gripping and morally complex as one of Harwood’s own dramas.
This new paperback edition includes memoirs and assessments of Harwood by Gyles Brandreth, Sir Tom Courtenay, Lady Antonia Fraser, Frederic Raphael, Sir Antony Sher and the playwright’s oldest friend, Gerald Masters.
Foreword
Updated paperback edition of the biography of the author of the screenplays for The Dresser, The Pianist (for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007).
Additional text
Ronald Harwood is a highly intelligent dramatist who handles important themes with a powerful theatrical skill. Furthermore he possesses an ability to tell stories, by which I mean his sense of narrative binds his skills to produce a compelling stage battle. I envy his abilities.
