Telling Some Tales

The candid, wryly funny and emotional autobiography of one of the UK?s most respected actresses.

Anna remembers how family life was never Raymond Massey fled the roost for the United States when Anna was little, and re-married. Her mother, Adrianne, was a marvellous hostess who filled the house with an exotic mixture of guests, but it was Nanny who supplied the crucial emotional support, and who remained with Anna until her death. Her first marriage was to Jeremy Brett, most famous for his elegant depiction of Sherlock Holmes for television. They had a son, David, together but the marriage ended in divorce.

From her stage debut in The Reluctant Debutante to her performance in Michael Powell?s notorious film Peeping Tom, Anna Massey tells the story of her remarkable career, peppering it with a whole host of extraordinary, often highly eccentric characters, and includes encounters with theatrical knights Olivier, Richardson, Redgrave and Gielgud, and Noel Coward takes more than one bow. Great friendships are formed with fellow actors like Alan Rickman, Alec McCowen, Dame Judi Dench, and playwright David Hare.

In spite of all the inevitable vicissitudes and upsets, Telling Some Tales ends up as a story of personal happiness, achieved without makeup lighting or script, about a life intensely lived.

From the Hardcover edition.