Maggie Smith--A Biography

October 19, 2015
This hagiography of the Downton Abbey and Harry Potter star is an updated and expanded edition of an earlier effort by theater critic Coveney: Maggie Smith: A Bright Particular Star, published in 1994. More turns out to be less for this overwritten biography, which says much but reveals very little about the actor, who rarely gives interviews. Coveney recounts detailed plot summaries of many of Smith’s plays and films, consistently emphasizing how extraordinary Smith is in each production. When the author himself isn’t gushing, he’s quoting other admirers, including playwrights Tom Stoppard, Edward Albee, and Anthony Shaffer; costars Michael Palin and John Moffatt; and director Jack Clayton. There are some nice examples of Smith’s withering wit, but this volume never delivers much insight into the “tragic intensity” and “technical skill” that makes her stage and screen roles so unforgettable. While the book covers Smith’s upbringing in Oxford, schooling, and initial career, as well as her seven-year marriage to actor Robert Stephens, these episodes are bogged down with minutiae that bore rather than illuminate. Fans of Smith may not be able to resist a biography of her, but they will likely be disappointed by this one.

Starred review from October 1, 2015
The illustrious career of "a great stage actress in both comedy and tragedy, and an international film star." Winner of two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and several Emmys, the internationally acclaimed Maggie Smith (b. 1934) is currently best known as Lady Violet on Downton Abbey. As British theater critic and biographer Coveney (Ken Campbell: The Great Caper, 2012, etc.) portrays her in this informative, well-crafted biography, Smith brings to her role as Dowager Countess the acerbic wit, sly irreverence, and masterly technique that have served her throughout her long career. Steeped in theater history, and with full cooperation from Smith; her husband, actor Beverley Cross; family and colleagues, including her close friend Judi Dench, Coveney seamlessly melds Smith's personal and professional lives into an engrossing narrative. Smith's stardom was ensured, the author believes, in 1960, when she received 12 curtain calls for her performance in J.M. Barrie's What Every Woman Knows. In 1969, her role in The Prime of Miss Brodie earned her an Oscar. Besides "her incurably obsessive drive to be working," Coveney writes, "she had a sure instinct about which work to do." That work took her to the Stratford Festival in Ontario, London's West End, Broadway, and Hollywood; from the start, she proved herself an astonishing comedienne. As Michael Caine, her co-star in Neil Simon's California Suite, remarked, acting with Smith "was like attending a one-woman masterclass on comic technique." On stage and screen, director Peter Wood said, Smith had a "telepathic ray" that connected with her audience. To co-stars, though, she could seem formidable: Michael Palin commented on "an intensity of animosity sometimes, which comes out in her acting and can be quite chilling." Journalist Bernard Levin thought she constructed a "brittle facade" to hide her vulnerability. "I'm never shy on the stage," she said. "Always shy off it." "I don't like myself very much," she once admitted. "I'd much rather be someone else." An authoritative and perceptive portrait.

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November 15, 2015

From playing Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier's Othello through her highly acclaimed role as Violet Crawley on the TV series Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith's achievements have continued to shine through the passing decades. Here, Coveney (Ken Campbell; Cats on a Chandelier) tells Smith's story, tracing her rise as an actress of exceptional talent, magnetism, and vitality, working with notable costars. He covers her award-winning stage performances in London, on Broadway, and beyond (The Way of the World; Hedda Gabler; Private Lives) as well as her diverse screen appearances ranging from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to the Harry Potter films. Coveney's research, a blend of interviews and archival sources, is impressive; he skillfully weaves this information into a thorough examination of all aspects of Smith's career within the context of the productions as well as the larger framework of stage and screen culture. Although there are ample details about her family, friends, children, and marriages to fellow actor Robert Stephens and playwright/screenwriter Beverley Cross, the primary emphasis here is on Smith's professional life. VERDICT This well-written, valuable resource on Smith's career is an informative read for fans and those interested in the performing arts. For both large academic and public collections.--Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2015
For a new generation of fans, she is Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies and the Lady Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey, but for legions of movie and theater buffs, Smith will forever be known as Miss Jean Brodie in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) or as the Tony Awardwinning Lettice in Lettice and Lovage. A contemporary of Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave, Smith is an accomplished, versatile actor, an all-around master of comedy and farce, drama and tragedy. Flinty and flirtatious, steely and seductive, buoyant and bawdy, Smith has performed in Shakespeare and Ibsen and with the likes of Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, bringing an intuitive interpretation to leading roles and secondary characters as well. Coveney parses Smith's numerous performances with exacting, often excruciating, detail to provide a thorough and thoroughly rewarding portrait of this titan of the theater. Serious students of theater, film, and acting will be richly rewarded by the care and insights Coveney brings to this comprehensive biography.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)