Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers

by Sean Hepburn Ferrer

Book Overview

A portrait of the celebrated movie actress, as presented by her son, recounts her most noted performances, her work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, and her role as a dedicated wife and mother. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671024787
• ISBN13: 9780671024789
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 230 Pages
• Weight: 2.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.1" x 10.5"

Customer Reviews

A Talented,Caring,Elegant Woman and Mother

Audrey Hepburn chose to never write her autobiography becauseshe was afraid of offending someone inadvertandly bycareless revelations.Her son,Sean,writes a loving tribute of this lovely ladywhose beauty shines through on every page,as it did in herfilms.Films such as "The Nun's Story",the musical "My FairLady"and Truman Capote's "Breakfast At Tiffany's."He also writes of how important his Mothers'work in UNICEFbecame to her,in her later years,and in turn to himself.Audrey was born in Holland and during World Warll she suffered from malnutrition, brought on by a diet consistingof tulip bulbs and water.She often went without food allday.After the war ended,she was a beneficiary of UNICEF.She understood the chidren of the Third World and theirsuffering better than many celebrities.In many ways,it is refreshing to read of Ms.Hepburn fromher eldest son's point of view.(Audrey had a younger sonshe adored named Luca Dotti)from her second marriage.This is a true love story.For any woman who admired Audrey Hepburn,this is aperfect Mother's Day Gift.For anyone,this is agift and the proceeds go to the "Audrey HepburnChildren's Fund."

An Elegant Spirit -that she is...

The different accounts that Sean Hepburn-Ferrer's has shared with us are touching, private and intimate and give a true picture of the amazing person Audrey Hepburn was. I began to read the book one evening before bed, I planned to read a few pages and then go to sleep. I couldn't put the book down. I read until I couldn't stay awake a moment longer, finishing the book when I woke up later that morning.The 300+ photographs complimented the book perfecty. The addition of photographs from the family album only made the book more special.Although I would have dearly loved to have been able to read Audreys autobiography, her premature death prevented that. I am so pleased that her son was able to write this book for her.One point: If you re after a detailed biography, this is not what this book is. However after reading a biography, I would recomment this book.Audrey Hepburn is certainly "An Elegant Spirit".

A loving-- and elegant-- tribute

This is a completely beautiful book, lovely to look at and to read. I was, in fact, in tears after the first page. No one could have written this but someone as close as Sean was to his mother. The fact that he did, and did it so well, is a wonder and a gift to all Audrey fans. Yes, it's not a true "bio", but I don't think loving Audrey requires "all the facts please". Hers has always been a spirit that glowed beyond the silver screen. And it truly radiates from his heartfelt words, gorgeous pictures and presentation. It's the one book I would recommend to anyone who says "Why Audrey?" and the one book those who love her already must have.

How to be a citizen of the world...

Sean Hepburn Ferrer was raised by an angel. "Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit" is a loving and fascinating tribute to the humanitarian and actress, written by one of the people who knew her best-her oldest son. Mr. Hepburn Ferrer generously shares stories and images of Audrey's humor, charm, grace, empathetic world outlook and incredibly caring nature. I've read several Audrey biographies, and this book is by far the best, but it functions more as a poem than a traditional bio. We see Audrey's life filtered through the primary modes of 20th century pictorial representation (bureaucratic, celebrity photography, family snapshots), then refracted back through her son's recollections and impressions.Within the book's pages are Audrey's lifetime of passports-these "papers" can be a chilling reminder of the obsession for national identification within the Europe she was born into, but they also optimistically mark her transformation into a citizen of the world. Family photographs reveal a woman consistent with her onscreen persona, and Audrey's elegant, delicate lines cut straight through the intimate and public realms. In pictures of her gorgeous garden in Switzerland and in images of her work for UNICEF, we witness her mission to imagine the world as it could be, and her tireless efforts to make it so.

An Elegant Spirit, indeed

Audrey Hepburn is the closest thing I'll ever have to an idol in my life. If you've seen her in a film you'll know that she could melt the hardest heart with a look, and she seemed to be an angel on Earth. If you've read a biography on her, you'll know that she was far more than a pretty face and really was an angel on Earth. Sean Hepburn Ferrer's book on his mother does nothing to dispel this notion.This book is not so much a biography or even a memoir so much as a scrapbook of sorts. He writes about their everyday life and how she just wanted Sean and his brother Luca to be raised and loved right, and there are long sections of just pictures. Featuring never before seen pictures and some lovely personal stories, you walk away from this book feeling that you sat down to dinner with the family and were immediately embraced by Audrey herself. Sean writes from the heart, the best place to write about Audrey from. I don't want to give much away because I really feel this is a book everyone should peruse for themselves, but I will say that this book was worth the long wait.