{"product_id":"9780857309389","title":"Under the Hammer","description":"\u003cp\u003e'The book of the year' SUNDAY TIMES'One of the very best biographies I have ever read' STEPHEN FRY'A hot thunderstorm of a book' DAVID HARE'I've never read anything like it!' RICHARD E GRANT 'Erotic Vagrancy gave me a week of pure joy' CRAIG BROWN'Unputdownable' TONY PALMER'A genius writer' LYNN BARBER'ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE . . . ONE OF THE GREAT READING EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE' MARINA HYDEA TOP 25 BEST BOOK OF 2023 (INDEPENDENT)AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEARA SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARThirteen years in the writing, Erotic Vagrancy doesn't only surpass every other biography of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton yet to appear, this rich, vital and passionately articulated book, which is as extravagant and wayward as its two subjects, is also about celebrity, creativity, being flawed, being brilliant, sexuality, the intermingling of a low and a highbrow existence, pride, insecurity, attraction and repulsion, and devilry.   We see Taylor the child actress exchanging dogs and horses for husbands. We see Burton emerging from the mists and brimstone of Wales to be the greatest theatrical animal of his generation. The pair come together in Rome during the making of Cleopatra, which gives Lewis the opportunity for a major farcical set-piece. We then enter a world of jewels and private jets, vodka, yachts and furs - the splendid vulgarity of the Sixties, where the narrative of Taylor and Burton becomes a Pop Art story.   Then, inevitably, it all goes wrong, with alcoholism, violence, recrimination and divorce ( twice ) - with Burton, whom Lewis depicts as a Faustus figure, damned by fame, dead at fifty-eight.   Stephen Fry has said, 'It is one of the very best biographies I have ever read. One of the best books about fame, desire, Hollywood and mid-to-late twentieth century culture ever written. Inside which, brilliant, hilarious and sensitive insights on all manner of subjects fizz and froth. Magnificent, terrible, tragic, triumphant.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"product__accordion accordion quick-add-hidden\"\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\u003cdetails id=\"Details-collapsible_tab_dDVEeR-template--25151688147283__main\"\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003csummary role=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-controls=\"ProductAccordion-collapsible_tab_dDVEeR-template--25151688147283__main\"\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003cdiv class=\"summary__title\"\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003ch2 class=\"h4 accordion__title inline-richtext\"\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProduct Information\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003c\/h2\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003csvg class=\"icon icon-caret\" viewbox=\"0 0 10 6\"\u003e\u003cpath fill=\"currentColor\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M9.354.646a.5.5 0 0 0-.708 0L5 4.293 1.354.646a.5.5 0 0 0-.708.708l4 4a.5.5 0 0 0 .708 0l4-4a.5.5 0 0 0 0-.708\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\u003e\u003c\/path\u003e\u003c\/svg\u003e\r\n\t\t\u003c\/summary\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003cdiv class=\"accordion__content rte\" id=\"ProductAccordion-collapsible_tab_dDVEeR-template--25151688147283__main\"\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"metafield-multi_line_text_field\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Roger Lewis\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDate of Publication:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/07\/2024\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePagination:\u003c\/b\u003e 656 pages\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eSeries:\u003c\/b\u003e N\/A\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eImprint:\u003c\/b\u003e riverrun\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePublished By:\u003c\/b\u003e Quercus Publishing\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eBook Classification:\u003c\/b\u003e Individual actors \u0026amp; performers\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/b\u003e 197 x 130 x 43\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eISBN13\/EAN\/SKU:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780857381743\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\u003c\/div\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\t\u003c\/details\u003e\r\n\t\t\t\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Roger Lewis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56455284949378,"sku":"9780857309389","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0568\/2180\/9347\/files\/9780857309389_50fa68f6-d76b-40ba-b4ea-98bef2759b8c.jpg?v=1775909132","url":"https:\/\/mountfloridabooks.live\/products\/9780857309389","provider":"Mount Florida Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}