Judi Dench - with a crack in her voice: With a Crack in Her Voice - The Biography Book

Theatrical biographies often concentrate on the salacious personal life behind the public talent, for which the world seems to have an irresistible curiosity. Anyone seeking such titillation from John Miller's book will be disappointed, for in Judi Dench he has chosen a woman with few skeletons to lay bare. Instead, what he achieves is an intimate portrait of one of Britain's most respected actresses, loved equally by audiences in dress circles and living rooms, and perhaps even more by virtually everyone with whom she has worked. The book is richly anecdotal in style, and traces her career from bad notices on her debut as Ophelia at the Old Vic in 1957 ("a piece of Danish patisserie") to her Oscar nomination in 1998 for Mrs Brown. By opening her memory and her address book, Judi Dench has authorized a valuable biography, especially significant given her distaste for publicity. John Miller's pedigree is itself distinguished (he's previously collaborated on projects with Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson), and he breaks up the train of reminiscences refreshingly with his own diary excerpts from accompanying her on set. The writing may occasionally lack impartial critique, but this is a small quibble set against the history it assembles of a true theatre Dame with a "common touch", arguably at the peak of her powers as the narrative closes.Read More