John Osborne: The Many Lives of the Angry Young Man

By John Heilpern

Book Overview

John Osborne, the original Angry Young Man, shocked and transformed British theater in the 1950s with his play Look Back in Anger . This startling biography-the first to draw on the secret notebooks in which he recorded his anguish and depression-reveals the notorious rebel in all his heartrending complexity. Through a working-class childhood and five marriages, Osborne led a tumultuous life. An impossible father, he threw his teenage daughter out of the house and never spoke to her again. His last written words were "I have sinned." Theater critic John Heilpern's detailed portrait, including interviews with Osborne's daughter, scores of friends and enemies, and his alleged male lover, shows us a contradictory genius-an ogre with charm, a radical who hated change, and above all, a defiant individualist.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375702954
• ISBN13: 9780375702952
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A 5-star biography

The most striking characteristic of British playwright, John Osbourne, is his fickle emotional well-being. At least, that's the way biographer John Heilpern described him in a roundabout way. The famous actor-turned-playwright, Oscar winner, and prime pivotal subject in British theater, lead a life more colorful than any play ever written. As a child, Osbourne was already causing trouble as he was expelled from school at age 15 for hitting the headmaster-five years after his father had died of tuberculosis. Osbourne was known to throw fits of anger and depression, and never healed from his father's devastating death. He was left with a mother who put food on the table by working as a barmaid. In his earliest years, Osbourne had become attracted to theater (where he could camouflage his lower-class roots) and toured for a short time as an actor. During this time he wrote four full-length plays and married the first of five wives. His first divorce gave him the material for his best-known script, Look Back in Anger, which held an intense undertone of class hatred. British theater critics were stunned to learn Osbourne was British, as they had assumed by his scripts that he was American. The biography continues with the story of Osbourne's estranged daughter, his other four wives, and his downfall with drugs and alcohol, which ended his life on Christmas Eve, 1994, where he confessed his last written words, "I have sinned." Heilpern, a New York Observer drama critic, writes a fascinating and sympathetic biography, one where Osbourne was portrayed as a charming, sweet man that collected teddy bears, but also the emotionally tormented man who threw his teenage daughter out and never spoke to her again. This is a biography that reads like a novel, taking on different narrators, though Heilpern is the moderating narrator overall, sharing Osbourne's secret journal entries (Heilpern was given full access to Osbourne's journals), interviews he conducted with people Osbourne associated with, tying it all neatly together into a colorfully entertaining biography. Armchair Interviews says: If you like to read about successful people who rose above their dysfunctions, this is an outstanding read.

One of the Best

I was trying to think of appropriate superlatives to describe my involvement with this biography. I guess that is why I read so many biographies-- to get into someone else's life for a while. Back to superlatives (like excellent and outstanding)-- I have throughly enjoyed living JO's life with him. No, it is not in strict chronological order and no, it is not your average biography, it is a terrific read. The secret is the style, which I find unique. It is conversational and in the order it needs to be to make a point or explain a time period. I really feel as if I can describe JO's personality and the way he would react to a situation-- not that I would necessarily like him, but I KNOW him. Most biographies do not give you that depth. This one gave me true insight into what it was like to be the "bad boy" of the London theater and then to live the rest of your life never getting near where you were in your 20's. He was very complex, but aren't we all if studied sufficiently? The gift of this book is that you understand his complexity because it is so well described and documented. This ranks up there with the best biographies I read-- like "Team of Rivals" and "Alexander Hamilton". You should read it. You will only gain from the experience.