Elsa Lanchester, Herself [Paperback]

Being known as “The Bride of Frankenstein” is an unusual form of fame, but for Elsa Lanchester the unusual came naturally. Born to radical socialist parents, Elsa attended an all-boys school and later “studied” in Paris with dance pioneer Isadora Duncan. At 17, she opened her own theater, which was frequented by writers such as H. G. Wells, Aldous Huxley, and Evelyn Waugh. She began performing with and then fell in love with a brilliant young actor named Charles Laughton. Soon after their marriage he revealed his homosexuality. Though it made their union shaky at times, it did not overshadow their common love of art, music, and nature, and their marriage endured for 36 years until Laughton’s death.Elsa Lanchester, Herselfpresents the story of a woman ahead of her time: independent, iconoclastic, liberated. It is the chronicle of a life filled with famous people (from Bertolt Brecht to Henry Fonda), and of a career that spanned almost seven decades. It is also a warm, truthful account of a very special marriage. Witty and wise, Elsa Lanchester’s account of her life and times is a delight.

“A book every actor should read.” —Mara Wilson, from her foreword
 

“The story of a remarkable woman and even more remarkable marriage, told in an engaging, straightforward, unaffected style.” —Publishers Weekly
 

“A wise, witty and at times deeply touching autobiographical account of the life of the English gamine who grew up to be one of Hollywood’s most delightful comediennes and the wife of one of its greatest, and most tortured, actors. Elsa Lanchester tells without fear or favor how she and Charles Laughton managed—and ultimately came to rely upon and take refuge in—the uneasy marriage that Charles’ homosexuality placed in jeopardy almost from the day it began. Here are all the fascinating people Elsa associalC-