By Myself by Lauren Bacall

First published as By Myself in 1978, Bacall’s first autobiography gives an honest and heartfelt recount of her life. She particularly focuses on her marriage to one of the greatest actors of the golden age of Hollywood, Humphrey Bogart (fondly referred to by Bacall as Bogie). Bacall, known to her friends as Betty (her birth name), details her family and her early modelling career before she shot to stardom almost overnight. Her first casting in a motion picture was the female lead in Howard Hawks’ To Have and Have Not (1944), co-starring opposite Bogart. Bacall was just 19 at the time. Her signature husky voice and unique beauty made her an overnight sensation. After finishing the picture, Bacall and Bogart married in the heat of a whirlwind romance. They would go on to star in three more motion picture together. The 25 year difference between them was no obstacle, and their two children were the product of their twelve year marriage. Bogart died in 1957 of Oesophageal cancer, at the age of 57. The emotion with which Bacall details her final years with Bogart proves the depth of her love and admiration for him, and provokes a deep emotional reaction in the reader.

The first half of By Myself goes into great detail about Bacall’s early career and her life with Bogart. After Bogart’s death, Bacall was courted by Frank Sinatra. However, after a tumultuous relationship with him, Bacall left and married actor Jason Robards. She and Robards had one child, but divorced in 1969, after eight years of a miserable marriage. Bacall details how Robards was frequently absent in the evenings, and how she was saddled with the responsibility of looking after Sam (the son of Robards and Bacall) as well as the two children from Bacall’s marriage to Bogart, and children from Robards’ previous marriages.

In 2006, 28 years after the publication of By Myself, Bacall published By Myself and The Some. As the title suggests, it is a re-publication of By Myself, with an extra 77 pages detailing those 28 years. She describes events such as the loss of friends like Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and the unimaginable tragedy of the 9/11 bombings.

The way in which Bacall describes the glamour of the golden age of Hollywood and her love for Bogart is thought exquisitely eloquent. She makes the reading of a 500 page book a pleasure, where hours pass like minutes, and the reader is transported into the world of one of the greatest stars of the Old Hollywood era.

Bacall passed away in August 2014 from a stroke, at the age of 89. She was thought of as the last remaining star, and will be remembered and missed by many.