A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson

Rating:
Summary: Excellent biography
Review: After having read this biography, I wish I could have known or at least met Ms. Garson. This is a wonderfully written book and one that anyone who loves Hollywood history will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Life
Review: All too often, celebrity biographies are depressing catalogs of scandal and hedonistic, self-destructive behavior. Not this biography. When you finish it, you are sad, but it's because Greer Garson is no longer with us and you will never have the opportunity to meet her.
This fascinating biography is full of vignettes that reveal the character and personality of this woman who overcame chronic illness and many other obstacles to become one of Hollywood's most respected actresses. Examples of her warmth, sincerity, and decentness abound. As her beloved husband of more than thirty years to whom she is devoted lies near death in a Dallas hospital, she stands by his bedside with an old friend and recites from memory her favorite Psalm. Asked to read the Bible at a church service on Easter she realizes she has forgotten her glasses. She composes herself and ad libs for the congregation a beautiful and memorable message of her own.
She contributes millions to fund libraries, build theaters, establish scholarships, and support medical facilities. At the College of Santa Fe to which she has donated millions, she can be found on occasion pulling weeds and tending favorite rose bushes. She was so admired and respected in Texas where she had a home that she was formally asked to run for the U.S. Congress.
One hopes that Mr. Troyan or some other writer will gather Greer Garson's letters and publish them and that the A&E Network will finally remember her in an installment of "Biography." In the meantime, Garson fans should buy this book. It will inspire you and enrich your life and your appreciation of this beloved actress will only deepen. A richly detailed, superbly written biography of a truly lovely human being!

Rating:
Summary: I've got her birthday!!!
Review: Greer Garson was so cool and so great and I never would of the extent of her greatness if not for this book. She was a amazing actress who was truly REAL. You get this feeling that she really felt the way she was acting and she really new the pain and happiness of her characters. She lead an incredible life.

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Summary: What a WONDERFUL book !
Review: I have always been a fan of Miss Garson's, and to be able to read such a loving and imformative story of her life, it is a can't miss book for any fan of this great lady!

Rating:
Summary: A treasure for old movie lovers
Review: I loved this book! Being a fan of the glamour of old-time Hollywood, it was so exciting to be able to read all these wonderful anecdotes and stories about what it was like making movies at MGM during its golden era. Greer Garson was a wonderful actress and lady who deserved to have her story told and I'm glad someone did her justice. Michael Troyan writes with much respect and admiration about Garson and digs up the most interesting details, directly from those who worked with her, knew her, and loved her. I would have liked to find out just a little more about her personal life, such as why she never had children and why she quit the film business, but all in all the book is great. Mr. Troyan, we anxiously await your next book.

Rating:
Summary: A rich and extremely detailed portrait of a legend.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Troyan's biography of Greer Garson. Like many who came along late in her career, I knew little about the star who was apparently a legend in her day. Troyan provides a vivid picture of the actress and the woman. Troyan's thoroughness in researching his subject is obvious from the many anecdotes provided by those who knew and worked with Garson, as well as the behind-the-scenes information on many of her films. When I met Troyan at one of his promotional appearances, he indicated that the rich detail comes, in part, from Garson's own unpublished and unfinished autobiography. Troyan's enthusiasm for his subject is obvious. The book is well-written and a relatively easy read. To provide a fair assessment, I should mention the book would benefit from a timeline, since it is at times difficult to keep track of what happened when. Also, Troyan commits the quite forgivable mistake of the first-time author. He provides perhaps too much detail in places. Don't let that keep you from reading a very informative and enjoyable book.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent, well-protrayed book
Review: It is a very interesting life of Greer Garson. All the detail and yet written so I wanted to keep turning the pages. It is an excellent, well-protrayed book. Do I sound prejudiced, I should be, he's my grandson.

Rating:
Summary: A Rose For Mrs Miniver - And Applause for Michael Troyan
Review: It's a tragedy that the work of this great actress seems to have been forgotten,the best example being that none of Miss Garson's
good films have found their way on to DVD. All of her films premiered to packed houses at NY's Radio City and quite a few broke box office records, including Mrs Miniver,Blossoms In the Dust,Madame Curie,Random Harvest,and Goodbye Mr Chips. I learnt many things about Greer Garson that I hadn't known, for example,she was born in London in 1904,not Ireland in 1908 as her publicist would have us believe. She made a name for herself on the London stage, before going to Hollywood, and despite an amicable relationship with Louis B Mayer, was freqently fustrated by his refusal to allow her to perform a range of roles,instead putting her in period dramas - hence her nickname of the Actress with the Bustle. She married three times (not two as is most commonly written) the first time disastrously to a British officer stationed in India, the second to Mrs Miniver co star Richard Ney (a union that didn't survive WW11) and finally when in her forties, to Col Buddy Fogelson, a marriage that lasted until his death many years later. A Rose for Mrs Miniver is a credit to author Michael Troyan, well written and well researched. Thanks to him we come to know this warm vivacious woman who lived her life with flare and class, - and who wasn't afraid to take risks - pretty well. I particularly enjoyed the recounting of Greer's refusal to be [pulled] in by Joan Crawford's jealousy and rudeness, and of her close life long friendship with regular co star Walter Pidgeon.
A wonderful book, thoroughly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: a heart warming book for a grand lady
Review: michael troyan has done a super job with this book.. and i thank you for letting those of us who remember greer as the wonderful actress she was, have a look at the lady as well. the story was told with dignity, laughter, and love due her.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent presentation of an incredible woman
Review: Michael Troyan's writing style provides so much insight and information about this wonderful person, one cannot help but feel that Greer Garson had become a personal friend long before the end of the book. His extensive research has resulted in a genuine treasure for Greer's old fans and the new ones generated from reading this well-done biography. He is to be congratulated on an easy-to-read format with amazing attention not only to the details of Greer's life, but also to the history of Hollywood's Glamour Years and the behind-the-scenes activities that resulted in so many of our favorite movies. This book celebrates someone who wouldn't quit or loose sight of her goals, while "following her star". One cannot help but be inspired to excellence after reading Michael's tribute to Greer Garson. Highly recommended for readers of ALL ages.