High Society: Grace Kelly and Hollywood

I really loved this book. The author depicted Grace with the grace she deserves. Very inspiring! Great choice if you want to find out more about the life and work of Grace Kelly!

The writer of this book has big respect for Grace Kelly. And that is no wonder - as this book shows - Grace did not only have a big talent and beautiful appearance, but she was a most considerate, kind and polite person. The author knew Kelly personally. She confided in him, as also did for example Hitchcock. In other words had Donald Spoto access to Grace's intimate sphere. It is obvious that Spoto has done very thorough work while writing this book. Well composed - starting with describing the family Grace was born in, continuing by showing how young woman Grace became a theatre student and how much she loved the theatre (not so much the movie-world). The final part shows Grace as a princess - in one of her last movies "The Swan", and in real life - by becoming the wife of Prince Rainier of Monaco. In this book you can indulge in the movie world of the Golden Era, intricate details about Hitchcock and other talented people. If you have a soft spot for romance, this book is for you - Grace fell in love all the time and the book gives some insight into several of her romances. The book also contains an analysis of Grace's major theatre plays and movies. I might have wanted to see even more photos of Grace and people important to her. But the photos that are in the book, are a wonderful collection, and it certainly is limited how many photos one can include in a pocket-book that is so packed with text. While reading the book I searched for photographs in the Internet for illustrate Spotos text for myself.

I have a lot of respect for Grace Kelly who was friends with the African-American dancer, Josephine Baker, when she was bankrupt in 1974. Grace enlisted the services of Jacqueline Onassis and together they financed Baker's triumphant return to Paris in April 1975. That is the way to support marginalised talent, but is that still happening today? Baker died in hospital on the 12th April 1975 at the age of 68, and Grace paid all the funeral expenses and brought the remains to Monaco for burial. That is friendship.Grace gave a lot of herself to the camera for audiences, particularly in the Hitchcock films, but she also gave a lot of herself to her friends. She was shy and aloof to those she didn't know, but she gave her heart to those she knew well.It's amazing that her heart was on the stage and that she only saw Hollywood as a temporary opportunity until she could fulfil her real ambition in the theatre.

Read this volume first to gain an insight to Grace Kelly,s film career prior to her marriage. Did not realise her acting career was so brief,but as "Royalty" it had to end.

This biography debunks many rumours about the famous, iconic actress and Princess of Monaco; Grace Kelly.We learn about her impressive, prolific career as an actress but also what she really seemed to be her dreams for her life which was love and family.The author has created a real page-turner.