Charles Morgan was the dramatic critic of The Times for most of the years between 1922 and 1939.The reviews for this small selection are taken from thousands written for The Times and from his weekly articles for The New York Times on the London theatre. Morgan was widely regarded as the most influential critic of his day. His fellow critic; James Agate; wrote lsquo;When Charles is on form he has us all whacked.rsquo; Though most werewritten overnight for the following dayrsquo;s paper; they were given spaceallowed to no modern critic. Beautifully written; they bring to life many of the great actors and actresses and the dramatists; old and new; as the theatre moved from the frivolous Twenties into the shadow of another war and towards the modern theatre of today. As they mirror the development of English theatrical taste in the interwar years; they are as much a delight to read; both witty and erudite; as they are an important historical record.
#4618860 in eBooks 2013-05-13 2013-05-13File Name: B00CW8WP24
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. If you liked "Big Eyes"; you will love this book...an Incredible StoryBy Paige TurnerOnce I started reading this book; I couldnt put it down. I saw "Big Eyes" and wanted to learn more about Margaret and Walter Keane. I had read about the 1986 trial in Hawaii; and since I live there; the papers reported the case quite extensively. If one calls Mr. Keane an artist; I would say he was a charismatic con artist. He fooled people for years; claiming the big-eyed waif paintings as his creation. Walter; from a family of 10 kids; craved attention and craved the spotlight. His wifes paintings provided a platform for his delusions of grandeur and narcissism. Im surprised people didnt dig deeper into Walters claims...for example; if he produced all those paintings; how come he had so much time on his hands to hobnob with the rich and famous and/or spend most of his waking hours at bars drinking or promoting the paintings? Also; any art expert could have seen that Margarets and Walters paintings were done by the same person. But Walter; being a larger-than-life domineering personality; willed people to believe he was the artist. He partied hard; had numerous affairs with women; gallivanting with celebrities while Margaret labored 16 hours a day; painting waifs.What makes this book especially good is that one of the authors actually met and interviewed Walter Keane when he was living alone in La Jolla; California. The book focuses mainly on Walter; his years with Margaret; the trials and his later years. He lied so much about ownership of the waif paintings that he actually believed he created them. Margaret tried to teach him how to paint; but Walter Keane had no talent or aptitude for painting. He was a frustrated; wannabe artist who resented but needed his wifes talent in order to keep fooling the public. To the public and friends; he was this loud; boisterous charismatic; larger-than-life artist. To Margaret; he was jealous; controlling and abusive; locking her in the studio and calling her every hour on the hour to make sure she was producing paintings. Greed; money and power corrupted this man to the point of arrogance; along with 2 quarts of Chivas Regal every day. It was this arrogance that became his undoing. Once Margaret exposed him for the fraud he was; Keane attempted to set the record straight and challenge Margaret in court. The movie follows this book closely; but you will learn more details about Walter and Margaret by reading this book. It is a really intriguing read.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Just a Series of Tabloid ArticlesBy Brian A. FosterThis book reads like a series of articles in a tabloid magazine. Yes; I purchased the book because I saw the movie and was interested in learning more details. While there are a few such details scattered among the pages of this book; a majority of it comprises guesses; innuendo; questions; and conjecture. I cannot say that I know more now than when I saw the movie because almost everything in the book is couched with questions about veracity; or backed up by other writers stories; or even worse by long passages of Keanes own "autobiography." Frankly; it reminds of Donald Trump truthiness: it may be true because theyre hearing things and reading things that others are saying so it might be true; but I dont know; maybe.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Jumbled story/documentaryBy RuthI bought this book in response to watching the Tim Burton 2015 movie Big Eyes. Unfortunately this book is somewhat jumbled up; not done in a chronological order. Without knowing the story and/or having seen the movie; its hard to follow; because the author presents some of the lies in such a way that you really wonder if its true or just him telling it sarcastically. However; the many photos are great.I expected more of a storyline like the movie. But altogether; well written and eye-opening.