Diaries of Kenneth Tynan - Softcover

An intoxicating mix of aesthetics, theater, love, sex, and politics from the perspective of a man who often served as confidant to the glittering personalities of his age.

Irreverent, indiscreet, wildly funny, sad, shocking, and inspiring, the legendary diaries of Kenneth Tynan, arguably the greatest critic of the twentieth century, are above all compelling literature. For over three decades, on both sides of the Atlantic, Tynan was at the hot center of the theater and film worlds. He knew everybody, and everybody wanted to know him. His diaries-so resplendent with griefs and gossip-bear superb witness to the fame he courted and the price he paid for it.
An intoxicating mix of aesthetics, theater, love, sex, and politics from the perspective of a man who often served as confidant to the glittering personalities of his age.

Irreverent, indiscreet, wildly funny, sad, shocking, and inspiring, the legendary diaries of Kenneth Tynan, arguably the greatest critic of the twentieth century, are above all compelling literature. For over three decades, on both sides of the Atlantic, Tynan was at the hot center of the theater and film worlds. He knew everybody, and everybody wanted to know him. His diaries-so resplendent with griefs and gossip-bear superb witness to the fame he courted and the price he paid for it.

Kenneth Tynan (1927-80), a legendary figure in twentieth-century theater, wrote a column in the London Observer, served from 1963 to 1973 as a key figure in London's National Theatre, and was a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, as well as the author of Oh! Calcutta!.

John Lahr is the senior drama critic of The New Yorker, where he has written about the theater and popular culture since 1992. He is the author of sixteen books, including Notes on a Cowardly Lion: The Biography of Bret Lahr, Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe Orton, Dame Edna Everage and the Rise of Western Civilisation, and Show and Tell: New Yorker Profiles.