Madly

In 1934, a friend took Vivien Leigh to see Theatre Royal, where she first saw Laurence Olivier give his performance as Anthony Cavendish. By the end of that evening she had confided to a friend that he was the man she would marry. The difficulty was that she was already married, and so was he.

This book follows the marriage of Olivier and Leigh, a love affair that still draws interest long after both performers died. The two were among the first truly global celebrities, and the rise of tabloids and television magnified their fame, helping them in some ways and harming them in others. Outwardly they appeared to have everything, yet they came to see themselves as doomed. Leigh's mental illness, which went undiagnosed for years, turned a relationship that had felt like a dream into something closer to a nightmare.

Drawing on new research, author Stephen Galloway gained access to letters that had never been published and spoke with friends and family of the couple. The story unfolds against two world wars, the golden age of Hollywood, and the social upheavals of the 1960s. Galloway traces their stormy romance through its passion, its losses, and the painful end of their life together.