Books
Booklist review of True Grace
Forever known as "America's Princess," Grace Kelly provided such a rich vein of material for so many biographers that Leigh confesses she was only granted a publishing contract for her project if she could promise not to do anything "warmed over." Accepting the challenge, Leigh discovered that ferreting out new information was not as difficult as she once feared, and her interviews with more than 100 people not previously tapped by Kelly biographers form the basis of this scintillating portrait of a woman best known for her ethereal beauty and incandescent charm.
After divulging the salacious details of Kelly's off-screen romances with many of her presumably happily married costars, Leigh focuses on the farce behind Kelly's fairy-tale wedding to Monaco's Prince Rainier in which the once-confident actress is depicted as a Rapunzel-like damsel trapped in the castle tower. Although the wealth of indelicate details may dismay loyal Kelly fans, Leigh's iconoclastic rendering strives to reveal the fragile woman behind the famous image.
Carol Haggas
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