Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto strips away the legends from the life of Francis of Assisi to reveal the true story of a man who has too often been obscured by pious iconography. Drawing on unprecedented access to unexplored archives, plus Francis's own letters, Spoto places Francis within the context of the multifaceted ecclesiastical, political, and social forces of medieval Italy, casting new light on Francis and showing how his emphasis on charity as the heart of the Gospel's message helped him pioneer a new social movement. This nuanced portrait reveals the multifaceted character of a man who can genuinely be said to have changed the course of history.

Drawing on his unprecedented access to Grace Kelly, bestselling biographer Donald Spoto at last offers an intimate, honest, and authoritative portrait of one of Hollywood's legendary actresses.

In just seven years-from 1950 through 1956-Grace Kelly embarked on a whirlwind career that included roles in eleven movies. From the principled Amy Fowler Kane in "High Noon" to the thrill-seeking Frances Stevens of "To Catch a Thief," Grace established herself as one of Hollywood's most talented actresses and iconic beauties. Her astonishing career lasted until her retirement at age twenty-six, when she withdrew from stage and screen to marry a European monarch and became a modern, working princess and mother.
Based on never-before-published or quoted interviews with Grace and those conducted over many years with her friends and colleagues-from costars James Stewart and Cary Grant to director Alfred Hitchcock-as well as many documents disclosed by her children for the first time, acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the transformation of a convent schoolgirl to New York model, successful television actress, Oscar-winning movie star, and beloved royal.
As the princess requested, Spoto waited twenty-five years after her death to write this biography. Now, with honesty and insight, "High Society" reveals the truth of Grace Kelly's personal life, the men she loved, the men she didn't, and what lay behind the facade of her fairy-tale life.

"From the Hardcover edition."

MARILYN MONROE is the most celebrated and controversial female icon of the 20th century. At last, Donald Spoto has produced an acclaimed biography worthy of this extraordinary and unforgettable star. With access to more than 35,000 pages of formerly sealed documents and interviews with 150 people who have never spoken on record before, Spoto's definitive biography reveals the truth behind the myths and speculations surrounding Marilyn's life and death. He exposes the falsehoods and casts new light on every aspect of Marilyn Monroe's 36 years: her dramatic childhood; her marriages; her relationships with movie moguls; politicians, poets, artists and statesmen. But most astonishing of all, he presents the reality of her death - more horrifying than anything a Hollywood screenwriter could have devised. Moving, often shocking, always absorbing, Marilyn Monroe will stand as the ultimate and compulsively readable biography of the woman who continues to enthrall millions. 'Not just sensational, but sensationally good' - Sunday Telegraph 'At long last Marilyn Monroe has found her knight in shining armour...[her] true story has been revealed' - Daily Mirror 'An impressive reminder of the tough, triumphalist Norma Jean...for once she has a biographer worthy of her' - JULIE BURCHILL, Sunday Times

Her name is synonymous with elegance, style and grace. Over the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn captured hearts around the world and created a public image that stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy. With unprecedented access to studio archives, friends and colleagues who knew and loved Audrey, bestselling author Donald Spoto provides an intimate and moving account of this beautiful, elusive and talented woman.
Tracing her astonishing rise to stardom, from her harrowing childhood in Nazi-controlled Holland during World War II to her years as a struggling ballet dancer in London and her Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in "Gigi," Spoto illuminates the origins of Audrey's tenacious spirit and fiercely passionate nature.
She would go on to star in some of the most popular movies of the twentieth century, including" Roman Holiday," "Sabrina," "Funny Face," " The Nun's Story," "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "My Fair Lady." A friend and inspiration to renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey emerged as a fashion icon as well as a film legend, her influence on women's fashion virtually unparalleled to this day.
But behind the glamorous public persona, Audrey Hepburn was both a different and a deeper person and a woman who craved love and affection. Donald Spoto offers remarkable insights into her professional and personal relationships with her two husbands, and with celebrities such as Gregory Peck, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Robert Anderson, Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, Albert Finney and Ben Gazzara. The turbulent romances of her youth, her profound sympathy for the plight of hungry children, and the thrills and terrors of motherhood prepared Audrey for the final chapter in her life, as she devoted herself entirely to the charity efforts of an organization that had once come to her rescue at the end of the war: UNICEF.
Donald Spoto has written a poignant, funny and deeply moving biography of an unforgettable woman. At last, "Enchantment" reveals the private Audrey Hepburn--and invites readers to fall in love with her all over again.
"She was as funny as she was beautiful. She was a magical combination of high chic and high spirits." --Gregory Peck
"In spite of her fragile appearance, she's like steel." --Cary Grant
"Audrey was known for something which has disappeared, and that is elegance, grace and manners . . . God kissed her on the cheek, and there she was." --Billy Wilder
"There is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like Audrey Hepburn." --Hubert de Givenchy
"Her magnetism was so extraordinary that everyone wanted to be close to her. It was as if she placed a glass barrier between herself and the world. You couldn't get behind it easily. It made her remarkably attractive." --Stanley Donen
"She has authentic charm. Most people simply have nice manners." --Alfred Lunt

"From the Hardcover edition."

Spoto's biography of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe makes use of over 150 interviews and more than 35,000 pages of previously sealed files, including Monroe's diaries, letters, and other personal and revealing documents. The book reveals new details of every aspect of her life, from her guarded childhood, and her relationships with men and marriages, to her mysterious death. Spoto comments on previous books about Marilyn, and puts to rest questions regarding Monroe's connection with the Kennedys.

The definitive biography of a remarkable woman and true legend of film

Joan Crawford was one of the most incandescent film stars of all time, yet she may have also been one of the most misunderstood. In this brilliantly researched, thoughtful, and intimate biography, bestselling author Donald Spoto goes beyond the popular caricature--the abusive, unstable mother portrayed in her adopted daughter Christina Crawford's memoir, "Mommie Dearest"--to give us a three-dimensional portrait of the real woman behind the actress, her dazzling career, and her extraordinary life and times.

Based on new archival information and exclusive interviews, "Possessed" traces Crawford's fifty years of memorable performances in such film classics as "Rain," "The Women," "Mildred Pierce," and "Sudden Fear," which are as startling and vivid today as when they were first released. Spoto goes behind the myths to examine the rise and fall of the studio system; Crawford's four marriages; her passionate, thirty-year on-and-off affair with Clark Gable; her friendships and rivalries with other stars; the truth behind the scathing stories in her daughter's memoir; and more.

Joan Crawford was one of the most incandescent film stars of all time, yet she was also one of the most misunderstood. In this brilliantly researched, thoughtful, and intimate biography, bestselling author Donald Spoto goes beyond the popular caricature--the abusive, unstable mother of her adopted daughter Christina Crawfords memoir, Mommie Dearest--to give us a three-dimensional portrait of a very human woman, her dazzling career, and her extraordinarily dramatic life and times. Illuminating and entertaining, Possessed is the definitive biography of this remarkable woman and true legend of film.

Since her death at the age of nineteen in 1431, Joan of Arc has maintained a remarkable hold on our collective imagination. She was a teenager of astonishing common sense and a national heroine who led men in to battle as a courageous warrior. Yet she was also abandoned by the king whose coronation she secured, betrayed by her countrymen, and sold to the enemy. In this meticulously researched landmark biography, Donald Spoto captures her astonishing life and the times in which she lived. Neither wife nor nun, queen nor noblewoman, philosopher nor stateswoman, Joan of Arc demonstrates that everyone who follows their heart has the power to change history.

Based on meticulous research and new interviews with dozens of family members, friends, lovers, directors, and costars, Rebel offers a revelatory look at actor and film icon James Dean (1931-1955). From the dusty roads of rural Indiana to Manhattan's gay culture, from Broadway to Burbank, here is Dean's troubled life: the tragic death of his mother when he was nine; his tumultous relationship with his father; his rise to stardom in New York and Hollywood and his on-and off-screen exploits.

This is the first complete, critical biography of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), one of America's finest playwrights and the author of (among many important works) The Glass Menagerie, Summer and Smoke, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly Last Summer, and the Night of the Iguana. Award-winning biographer Donald Spoto gives us not only a full and accurate account of Williams's life; he also reveals the intimate connections between the playwright's personal dramas and his remarkably autobiographical art. From his birth into a genteel Southern family, through his success, celebrity, and wealth, to his drug addictions, promiscuity, and creative struggles, Tennessee Williams lived a life as gripping as his plays. The Kindness of Strangers, based on Williams's own papers, his mother's diaries, and interviews with scores of friends, lovers, and professional associates, is, in the author's words, a portrait of "a man more disturbing, more dramatic, richer and more wonderful than any character he created".

Born in Brussels in 1929, Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a British father and a Dutch Baroness. But when she was five, her father deserted the family. With the outbreak of war in 1939, her mother thought they would be safer in Holland than Holland Park, but although they survived the German Occupation, the experience left its physical and emotional scars. Back in England again, Audrey studied ballet with Marie Rambert. After a few West End musicals and minor film parts, she was spotted by the author, Colette, to star in a stage version of her novel, Gigi. And then Audrey's career took off. Her debut screen role was the Princess in the enchanting Roman Holiday. It won her an Oscar. She went on to bring her unique grace and high spirits to a number of highly acclaimed films - from Funny Face and The Nun's Story to My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Robin and Marian. For a while it looked as though her personal life would follow the Hollywood dream. But her marriage to Mel Ferrer was not to last. She married and divorced a second time, and there were other passionate but short-lived affairs, some revealed for the first time in this book, but her relationships were never entirely successful. With all the insight, background knowledge and innate sympathy for his subject, qualities that have made his biographies of Hitchcock, Dietrich, Monroe and Bergman such international successes, Donald Spoto truly captures the spirit of an elusive, beautiful, talented and vulnerable woman.