Summary

Dirk Bogarde famously did not intend to publish any more autobiographical material after his fourth such book, "Backcloth".

Dirk Bogarde famously did not intend to publish any more autobiographical material after his fourth such book, "Backcloth". That project ended with the destruction of much of his personal papers. When his manager died, however, Bogarde found in his effects a file copy of a book that Bogarde had intended to send to the publisher, but had decided against doing so. All of Bogarde's copies had burned in the "Backcloth" bonfire, but manager Anthony Forwood had not destroyed his copy. Reading the material again, Bogarde changed his mind and decided that the material, the collected basically unknown correspondence between he and an American librarian during his film heyday, should see publication. It serves, as some have said of other Bogarde books, like an alternate biography.