Available Formats
Kenneth Branagh
By (Author) Dr Mark White
Faber & Faber
Faber & Faber
1st February 2006
Main
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Films, cinema
791.43092
Hardback
336
Width 163mm, Height 241mm, Spine 27mm
585g
From humble beginnings, Kenneth Branagh drove himself to dizzy heights of accomplishment. By twenty-one he had starred in a West End hit. At twenty-three he was playing Henry V for the Royal Shakespeare Company. By twenty-six he had established his own theatre company. Shortly after that he directed and starred in a movie version of Henry V, the start of a series of Shakespeare films that resulted in him being viewed by many as the leading interpreter of Shakespeare in the world. No actor of his generation achieved so much so rapidly. And yet no actor of his generation received such relentless criticism. Mark White explores this paradox in a new biography of Branagh. Based on extensive research in previously untapped archival materials and on numerous interviews, White traces the vicissitudes of Branagh's career, examining his meteoric rise and the backlash that accompanied it. A remarkable portrait of a celebrated and turbulent career containing much new information National newspaper serialisation and widespread review and feature coverage assured A fascinating insight into celebrity, contemporary Hollywood and British theatreland
Mark White holds a doctorate in history, has taught at six universities in Britain and North America, and is currently a Reader in History at the University of London. This is his fifth book.