'Biographies only tend to be definitive until the next one comes along, but there's no danger of Coldstream's erudite, moving analysis ever being superseded' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY.As an actor Dirk Bogarde was a Rank contract artist and matinee idol who became a giant of the intellectual cinema, working on films such as Death in Venice, The Servant and Providence. Fiercely protective of his privacy, and that of his partner of 40 years, he left England in the 1960s t...

_______________'The autobiography comes full circle - appropriately enough, because this is a book in which people come to terms with the past, make peace with inner demons, learn to say goodbye to loved ones and become sensitive, caring human beings' - The Independent**_______________First published in 1993, A Short Walk from Harrods is volume six of Dirk Bogarde's best-selling memoirs.**Forced to return to...

______________First published in 1977, A Postillion Struck by Lightning is volume one of Dirk Bogarde's best-selling memoirs.Following Bogarde from childhood through adolescence, to the beginnings of his budding career, A Postillion Struck by Lightning is a heartfelt memoir, offering insight into what created the drive and charisma that eventually made him a star. Dreamy, sun-soaked summers full of freedom spent with his y...

______________'A charming and entertaining read by a born storyteller' - Sunday Express**______________First published in 1997, Cleared for Take-Off is the final volume of Dirk Bogarde's acclaimed series of best-selling memoirs.**During his many reconnaissance missions in Europe and the Far East, the young Bogarde experienced the terror of enemy attack and the horror of its aftermath, together with the inten...

First published in 1978, Snakes and Ladders is volume two of Dirk Bogarde's best-selling memoirsSnakes and Ladders follows Bogarde from the challenges of his army training camp at Catterick, through the horrors of war, to his glittering – if often trying – film career. We see the thoughtful boy finding his way alongside his fellow recruits, to emerge from the war a thoughtful man, shaped in many ways by his harrowing experiences.Somewhat f...

This fascinating selection of extracts provides a vivid audio portrait of Dirk Bogarde, the award-winning actor and accomplished writer and artist who died in 1999. Interviews include: Picture Parade, broadcast on BBC TV, 10 January 1961 (with Robert Robinson); The Movies, broadcast on BBC TV, 17 April 1967 (with Roger Hudson); Film Time, broadcast on BBC Radio, 12 June 1971 (with Anthony Bilbow); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC TV, 10 Octorber 1971 (with Mi...

Originally published in 1980, this is Dirk Bogarde's first novel.In the uneasy aftermath of WWII, a group of ordinary British soldiers and their families find themselves stationed as peacekeepers at an outpost in the Java Sea. Whilst attempting to return the island to Dutch control, they are subject to violent attacks by the locals who want their freedom.As the Empire crumbles, the island is plunged into chaos and violence amidst a nationalist uprising. Selfishness, sex, gr...

________________'Absorbing... his gift for dialogue is exceptional' - The Observer________________First published in 1983, An Orderly Man is volume three of Dirk Bogarde's best-selling memoirs.After completing work on Visconti's Death in Venice, the celebrated actor seeks a refuge from 20 years of 'continual motion'. This dream of a peaceful retreat materia...

First published 1981, this is Dirk Bogarde's second novel.The fabulous but wavering old Lady “Cuckoo” Peverill, lives with her husband, Napoleon-mad military historian, Archie. Dissatisfied and overcome by sheer boredom, she ventures down to the lake at the edge of their estate, pockets filled with stones, she begins to walk into the water. Before she is too deeply submerged, she is pulled away by sparsely-clothed drifter, Marcus Pollock.Feigning that he merely saved her fr...

______________'Desperately moving' - The Daily TelegraphFirst published in 1986, Backcloth is volume four of Dirk Bogarde's best-selling memoirsFilling the gaps left between his previous memoirs, as well as highlighting new episodes, Backcloth explores the patterns of pleasure and pain that have made up Bogarde's extraordinary life.Based on personal letters, notebooks and diaries a...

________________'He has brought back a land of lost content, and its lamps still shine' - TLS**________________First published in 1992, Great Meadow is volume five of Bogarde's best-selling memoirs.**Employing both the language and lucidity of the young boy that he evokes, the actor turned author, Dirk Bogarde, presents us with a charming recollection of his childhood. From 1927 to 1934 he lived in a remote ...

First published in 1991, this is Dirk Bogarde's fourth novel.With his divorce proceedings looming, writer William Caldicott is in desperate need of some respite. As fate would have it, he receives a cryptic letter of farewell from his estranged brother James, along with the keys to James' house France.Sensing the potentially reformative aspect of such a break, William sets out in search of his brother. He rapidly becomes embedded in the fabric of rural France, learning that...