BACALL, LAUREN — By Myself

Jonathan Cape. 1979. Hardcover with dust jacket, 24.5cm. Book, 377pp, 2 photo sections, over 500g to post, short gift inscription. review says > She was the husky-voiced rising star, and he was the grizzled veteran. While "Laurel Bacall: By Myself" covers much of Bacall's life, the centerpiece of it is her marriage to Humphrey Bogart. Here Bacall reflects back on her eventful life, relationship and how things are for her since. Teenage Betty Bacall first saw Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca," and decidedly did not think he was sexy. But she started to think otherwise when she became a rising model-turned-starlet in Hollywood, a nervous budding It-girl. She met and befriended Bogart, then trapped in an alcoholic, abusive marriage with a woman he didn't love. Their friendship quickly become a hidden love affair, despite their age difference. After his divorce from third wife Mayo, the two of them married and had two children, until Bogart's untimely death of cancer. Bacall chronicles her sorrow at his loss, and her life "by herself." Bacall does a good job with this biography. She writes her own life story as a smart but insecure woman who isn't afraid to reveal her embarrassments and flaws. She comes across as a lot stronger than she believes herself to be, though she falters quite a bit in middle-age. At times Bacall may frustrate readers by being somewhat clueless about her own relationships and marriages (drinking and marital discord). "By Myself" is not exceptionally written, however; the style is quite plain and lacks quite a few details. Bacall compensates somewhat with her dry, self-deprecating wit and forthrightness. There's a bit of lingering displeasure with some people like her ex-husband and Bogart's ex-wife Mayo, but Bacall keeps any negative feelings strictly reined in. Very Good/Good to Very Good.