Alec Guinness

Over the last few years Sir Alec Guinness has been keeping a diary, small portions of which have been appearing in the "Spectator". The diary is the basis of this book, though Guinness has taken the opportunity to go back and expand and revise his entries.

These journal entries are comprised of Sir Alec Guinness’s observations on Britain during the tumultuous times of Princess Diana’s death and the election of Tony Blair, and comments on his quintessentially English country life with his wife. Written from the summer of 1996 through 1998, A Positively Final Appearance is a follow-up to the best-selling My Name Escapes Me. Guinness offers frank (and surprising) reflections on the effects of appearing in the Star Wars films, and both hilarious and poignant memories of such well-known performers as Humphrey Bogart and Noel Coward. This delightful, humorous journal is a wonderful legacy from a beloved actor.

Already a bestseller in England, Guinness's memoir is less autobiography than fond recollections of the many friends ("blessings") he has accumulated in his long theatrical career. In loosely organized chapters, most centered around one of the major influences in his life (e.g., Sybil Thorndike, John Gielgud), Guinness wanders back and forth through time. The threads of Guinness's own career, marriage, and religious searching wind through these chapters in an amusingly self-deprecatory way. He describes his career as a naval officer during World War II as "the best performance I have given," in a chapter full of hilarious and hair-raising episodes. Sharp imagery and marvelous word portraits make this a charming book of English theatrical lore.