A Postillion Struck by Lightning. Dirk Bogarde. Phoenix (1977)

A charming and engaging autobiography of childhood and young adulthood. Dirk Bogarde structures the book in two parts, the first recounts his time in the Garden of Eden, the second his expulsion from it and his progress in a harsher world. The Garden of Eden is rural Sussex where he could wander in the countryside with his sister largely free from adult supervision and interference. The big events are a visit from a relation a few years older who is a burden as she does not enjoy rural life and the campaign to win a canary at a local fair.
The expulsion from Eden was started when another child was born and the issue of Dirk Bogarde's persistent educational failures became pressing. Dirk was sent to Glasgow to stay with middle-aged childless relatives, to study at a technical school there. This was a savage dislocation from his previous life, he did not fit in at school, continued to fail and was a mystery and a concern to his relatives. Finally returning home and trying to evade his fathers efforts to guide him to a place with "The Times" newspaper, Dirk tried to start a career in acting. This is what he really wanted to do with his life as his account of his starting years just as the shadow of the Second World War started to darken.
While Dirk Bogarde is the narrator in this book, it is not centrally about him, the charm and warmth of the book lies in the wonderful cast of family, friends and aquantinces that crowd through the pages. His assertion that he never wished to be a star, rather be an honest and respected actor is borne out in the way he does not hog the limelight. The descriptions of rural Sussex, Glasgow and pre-war London are vivid and the details are sharp and telling. The writing is vivid and direct, he is hardest on himself. This is a hugely enjoyable book, a pleasure to read.

A Kentish Lad. Frank Muir. Corgi Books (1997)

A very engaging autobiography. Frank Muir worked as a writer, presenter and television executive for decades after the Second World War, starting in radio and moving to television as it was becoming a mass medium. While he had a show business career this is not a show business autobiography, it is is story of a life gratefully lived. At a very young age Frank Muir discover that making people laugh was something he enjoyed, the incidental opportunities provided by his time in the RAF, writing for RAF radio while stationed in Iceland gave him a training and a yearning to make it a career. Post war opportunities arose slowly, luck lead to a long term writing partnership with Denis Norden, which in turn led to a career in television as a writer, presenter and executive. He was also a writer of a very successful series of children's books and other books.

The most significant problem with autobiography is perspective, identifying what would be of interest to a stranger about your life without being a bore is tricky at best, it is always fatal to be too removed and allow others dominate or be to present and loose sight of what is actually interesting about your experiences. Frank Muir manages the task with understated and charming skill, he has a clear and confident voice matched with a nicely self-deprecating wit. His strong enjoyment of and interest in other people means that the famous people he has met come across as people rather than an exercise in name dropping. He writes without malice and with clear opinions and his writing about his family is a model of how to balance relevant exposure with discretion. This is a warm, funny and sharply written book, thoroughly companionable.