Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $41.39, very good condition, Sold by Pendleburys Bookshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Llanwrda, CARMARTHENSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Book. Inscribed by Author(s) Hardback, octavo, a very good tightly bound copy in a well preserved pictorial dust jacket which is now protected in a non-adhesive archival film sleeve. Inscribed to previous owners and signed under by the author. Illustrated with b&w plates, 224pp.
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $26.99, fair condition, Sold by Book Mob rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Clarita, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
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Seller's Description:
Fair. Size: 5x1x8; Name on the flyleaf. Wear on edges and corners. Clean pages with no markings. Ships same day in most cases! Any queries, just ask for photos. Your satisfaction matters!
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $31.98, very good condition, Sold by Solr Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincolnwood, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $32.98, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $42.00, very good condition, Sold by Black Cat Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sag Harbor, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal, Intimate Book About George to cart. $82.00, very good condition, Sold by Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Springfield, MA, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon and Schuster,.
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $129.05, like new condition, Sold by Keeper of the Page rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Enumclaw, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
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Seller's Description:
Fine. Near Fine DJ. Simon & Schuster 1979 2nd Printing Grey cloth spine with silver lettering and parchment color boards. 16 photo illustrated pages. Bright glossy dust jacket with back upper edge mended. In Plastic. 16+224=240 pages. 15.1 ounces. Size: 8 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 7/8 inches.
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $169.74, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from San Diego, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of A Dreadful Man: a Personal Intimate Book About George to cart. $27.98, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Simon & Schuster.
I've always been a bit fascinated by George Sanders and thought this book by his good friend would be revealing. It turned out to be a bit ho-hum with almost more about the author than the subject.
Sivvie
Feb 20, 2010
A Little Gem.
This wonderful book never flags for a second, giving us a keyhole look into the life of George Sanders, the author's friend, mainly through the letters from Benita Hume, widow of actor Ronald Colman (also a friend of Aherne) and then wife of Sanders. Letters can be boring, but not in this case. Benita fills hers with witty sayings, anecdotes about Hollywood stars and acquaintances, and insights into the complex Sanders who laughingly agrees with Aherne when he calls him a dreadful man.
There is that tense moment over English scones when Benita asks the author "What would you think if I were to marry George Sanders?" After a long moment, Aherne eventually replies, "Oh darling! He's a dreadful man!" (p.71). A month later she married him, and wouldn't communicate with Aherne for several months, demonstrating her tetchiness over the matter, although Sanders was quite unperturbed. Other friends (not named) were not so leniently treated: Benita writes "...you say, "If there is anything we can do, please do not hesitate to let us know.....I must hesitate in front of such a tempting invitation......Sadly, and clearly with no love, for I do not want to see you again."(p.77)
We find Sanders embroiled in shady schemes, the unfortunate Husan Ltd. folding with money lost to investors (one of them being Aherne) and Cadco Ltd., and in Benita's letters we read that it is everyone's fault but Sanders', who is busy flying from place to place, acting in films he cares nothing about and attempting escape from boredom. When Benita contracts breast then bone cancers, their high life is at an end. After her death he married once more, choosing Magda Gabor (sister of his second wife Zsa Zsa Gabor), the marriage lasting a few weeks only - running, running until his boredom causes him to suicide, leaving those now famous words:...'I leave you all in your sweet little cesspool and I wish you luck....'
The whole book is rich in interest, lively and entertaining, skillfully depicting not a dreadful man but a doomed one.
kek9
Jan 30, 2009
A Good Read by An Only Friend
An interesting view of George Sanders from, perhaps. his only friend. Lots of dishing and an explaination as to the real character of the man that George Sanders was. This covers many of the amusing and not so outstanding aspects of a man in the public eye with little toerence for it or it's trappings. Mr. Sanders turns out to be somewhat less than the nasty characters he protrayed on screen, but also not as successful a human being in real life either.
advancedinstructor
Dec 26, 2008
A Dreadful Man
This is not the story of "A Dreadful Man", the title suggested to his friend and author Aherne by George Sanders himself. However, the author does (perhaps not intentionally) paint a picture of a spoiled, narcissistic, self-indulgent man always going his own way, while incredibly susceptible to flattery from others, including criminal-minded business associates. Finally, when advancing age and poor health undermined his earning power as an actor, such that he could no longer sustain his quixotic self-indulgences, Sanders chose to check out of Life rather than become a "ward" of those very few who still cared about him.
