Movie legend, princess, tragic heroine.
From the moment Grace Kelly stepped before the movie camera in 1950, the world was captivated by this stunningly beautiful yet elusive actress. After a string of passionate affairs with leading film stars such as Clark Gable, Ray Milland and William Holden, Grace met and married her Prince. Half marriage of convenience, half genuine love match, their tumultuous relationship formed the backdrop for a romance no Hollywood writer could have scripted.
Robert Lacey reveals details about Grace’s tragic, early death. He recounts the misadventures of the Grimaldi children since their mother’s death — the paternity suits against Prince Albert, Princess Stephanie’s children born out of wedlock, the marriages and romances of Princess Caroline.
Peopled with an extraordinary cast of characters, Grace is a rich and riveting story. Robert Lacey is the first author to penetrate the storybook façade. Through hundreds of interviews with Grace’s family and friends, he weaves the tale of a complex and surprisingly conflicted woman who created a dream for herself and lived it.
This enhanced edition from Apostrophe Books also provides access to 103 photographs, video, links to newsreel footage and trailers to 12 of Grace Kelly’s films.
Robert Lacey says: “Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, was sheer magic. She was an enchanting confection of charm, vulnerability and exhilarating blonde ambition, and I am delighted that the modern magic of digital technology has made it possible for Apostrophe Books to update Grace, my 1994 story of her life and loves, with direct links to a unique portfolio of historic newsreels, movie trailers and a brilliant collection of fresh images that have been specially researched and assembled for this first e-book edition. My aim in Grace, the book, was to bring this inspiring and extraordinary woman alive with words on the page. Now here are the moving pictures that can bring her beauty and vitality alive on your own screen!”
Robert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to – and often living alongside – his subjects. He is the author of numerous international bestsellers.
You can find more information about Robert at www.robertlacey.com
“The definitive biography” Vanity Fair
“Kelly was a living legend, but Lacey makes her real without really diminishing her effect and effectiveness … Lacey does more than recite known facts. He digs deeper, and his picture is one far more realistic than the impossibly wholesome depiction than Hollywood wanted us to accept” Booklist
“A definitive biography with a shrewd final verdict.” New York Times Book Review
“Highly readable” Kirkus REVIEWS
“Seductive” Publishers Weekly
“(a) serious work that…is rich in anecdote yet captures the broad story” Library Journal
“Lacey sets forth a believable analysis of Kelly’s libertine side and of her onscreen persona.” People
“Revealing…backed up by extensive research” The Day
“Convincing” LA Times
“Lacey is an intelligent and highly competent biographer and, against the odds, has got out a book that will, surely, be the last word on its subject.” Riviera Reporter
“This bio is really well done, I think. Certainly provided an insight into Grace that I hadn’t known previously, and developed her stature as a credible and talented actress beyond what I previously held in my mind for her. The real character of the lovely Ms Kelly was a bit of a surprise, but one that I was happy to entertain in my imagination, for she captured the attentions of so many successful and competent men in her brief single life. The Kelly family was very interesting in many ways, and the need to compete and succeed was instilled in Grace and her siblings from a hard-driving and business successful father. The story was intriguing and compelling, and seemed to end too soon. Her private life as a wife to the prince pretty much stopped her career in her tracks, although interestingly enough it did not stop her drive to be meaningful and valuable and amorous with those few fortunate men whom she continued to covet even after her betrothal to the semi-regal one. I developed a respect for her in many ways, and felt that I was admitted into a private life whose boundaries could have been protected to a much higher degree. In the pursuit of truth, these bio’s do get told, but somehow I feel that Grace was violated in some ways by those who pierced the veil of her public personna. Perhaps I was affected in a way not dissimilar to all of the other men who were exposed to her many charms, even as a reader so distantly removed from the reality of her personal lifetime. R.I.P. Ms Kelly.” 5★ Amazon review
“This is a very well written, well researched book. I was intrigued. The book is not the usual glamorised sensational story of a celebrity but a factual account of her life. She appeared to be the ice maiden of Hollywood, but she was quite the reverse - the book deals with her many affairs and her vulnerability - she desperately needed the approval of her father, who never encouraged her in her career - and who was very critical and sceptical about her many paramours - her life with Rainier was far from perfect, he was a difficult, moody man, and her children were spoilt and rebellious - what seemed to be the ideal life of a Serene Princess was far from the truth - in middle age she gained weight and was no longer the , beautiful Grace of her days as a film star, - she was living apart from Rainier in Paris for most of the time, and she had affairs with much younger men. Her untimely death and the effect it had on her husband and children brings the book to its conclusion. Highly recommended.” 5★ Amazon review
