The Richard Burton Diaries

This book took me two months – to the day – to read. For someone who used to read a book a day and has now slowed down to generally a book a week, that is LONG time. But don’t think that it was because I didn’t enjoy reading this – on the contrary, I loved it, to the extent that I would put it in my top ten favourite books.

Because it is Richard Burton’s diaries, it is not an autobiography as such, but it does paint an revealing and fascinating picture of his life, particularly during his first marriage to Elizabeth Taylor.

The diaries initially start with schoolboy Richard (then called Richard Jenkins) describing his day to day life – with focus on friends, family and sport (and a lot of board games!) but even then you show more can see his budding interest in books and literature. The majority of the diaries are, as aforementioned, written during his life with Elizabeth Taylor, and they are very absorbing – not just for the private snapshots of their lives together, but also for his thoughtful observations on the world in general, his profession, his children and his reading habits. Because he certainly loved to read – up to three books a day sometimes – and wrote his thoughts about almost everything he read. He had a wickedly acerbic sense of humour and often used quotes by poets, authors and playwrights to support his point.

The diaries tail off towards the end of his and Taylor’s relationship and then start again during his four marriage (to third wife Suzy Hunt). After another long gap, they restart again during his relationship with Sally Hay, and during preparation for the Private Lives tour, when he and Taylor starred together in Noel Coward’s play about a divorced couple who still have feelings for each other. I admire Burton’s widow Sally for releasing the diaries, especially when he writes with such passion and love towards Taylor for the majority of them.

What ultimately emerged from the diaries was a picture of a very intelligent, witty and generous man, with many demons (not the least of which was of course alcohol), but who was all too aware of the flaws in himself, as much as he noticed flaws in those around him.

It’s a thoroughly enjoyable book from beginning to end, beautifully edited (although I would have preferred the notes to be in a list at the back of the book, rather than footnotes on almost every individual page), and one I will definitely pick up and read again. Highly recommended for anyone with even the slightest interest in any aspect of Burton’s life. show less

Engrossing read.
I got the impression from these memoirs, that Burton was an unhappy, bored and restless person who's marriage to Elizabeth Taylor for 10 years(?) seemed the most settled during his life and he wrote more about his day to day life during that time.
There were gaps, but as long as he had his books, food, yacht and never settled into one place very long he was, sort of, content.
Later in life, booze featured, prominently in his system, as he mentioned in his entries, and as his health got worse, it was quite painful to read, as the entries became a lot shorter.
Fascinating to read, though I skipped the odd page where there were very frank passages and boring ones.

Fantastic and often fascinating reading. Very revealing and thought provoking insight into the private and professional life of one of the greatest Welshmen of the 20th century, and one of Britain's finest actors. This is long though...very long. Perhaps best read in small doses (as I did), although I did find myself struggling at times to remember all of the stepchildren's names and the adopted wards and various household and office staff and other peripheral characters that Burton would refer to frequently.

Very funny in places as well. These diaries convey a true sense of the man better than any other documentary or screen representation of him that I have otherwise encountered. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in show more cinema and/or the mid-20th century. Lots of fun.

Diolch yn fawr. show less

This is a good look at the life and thoughts of Richard Burton. These are his diaries so it is not a traditional biography but you get a good look at his day-to-day life - especially during the years of his first marriage to Elizabeth Taylor. He truly loved her. He really tried to stop drinking and said he felt better when he wasn't drinking but alas, he could not stick to it - especially when Elizabeth was drinking. The amount of reading Burton did was amazing - and it was not light reading either. He really seemed like he would have been much happier if he had been a writer. I found the book very interesting. It was heavily footnoted which slowed down the reading speed with the footnotes explaining who people and places were. I think show more a glossary in the back of the book would have worked better for the people as at times you forgot who was who. Overall, I found the book a fascinating look at the lives of one of the most famous couples of their time. show less

This is an honest to goodness diary that I'm sure Richard Burton never thought would see the light of day. It's interesting in its mundaneness, a real glimpse into his life. I didn't read every entry but dipped in and out and felt like a real voyeur, which was frankly quite enjoyable!
I found myself really warming to him and fascinated to learn about his great love of reading.

Richard Burton was a terrific writer and a keen observer of people. His diaries are gossipy and fun ... they (he an Elizabeth Taylor) socialized with the rich and famous in the acting world and politics so there are bits about Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, Henry Kissinger, Tito, Rex Harrison, Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn and Mia Farrow, among others. I thought it interesting but this book is over 650 pages long so it was hard to get through without some skimming.

It is what the title claims: diaries. Don't expect a clean, edited biography. It is a wonderfully annotated collection of diaries spanning 1939 - 1983. Introspective Richard.

Having said that, I rate it 5 stars. It is raw Richard. Whether Richard Jenkins or Richard Burton it is Richard on paper. Kudos to his widow for releasing what is, in some ways, a love letter to Elizabeth Taylor. It is also a love letter to his family. But, most of all, it is a love letter to books. The books that he read, the books that he loved, the books that he savored.