Frances Farmer Books

I'm a die-hard Frances Farmer fan. In my opinion, she was the most beautiful actress in the history of Hollywood. I know much about her life, so when I read this "biography" by William Arnold, a "journalist", I was surprised by the errors he had made. He has her date of birth wrong, for instance. And further into the book he writes falsehoods or half-truths to support his claim that Frances had had a lobotomy. I saw the "This Is Your Life" episode honoring Frances and clips of her hosting her talk show in Indianapolis, and it's clear she did not have the procedure. Readers should be aware that Arnold is a Scientologist and he employed an anti-psychiatry approach to this "biography". One could read between the lines that he's using Frances to discredit the psychiatric establishment. To mask his hidden agenda, he makes FF into a martyr for the individual spirit, victimized by a narrow-minded society.

In truth, Frances was never a victim. She made her decisions and paid for it. It's a mystery (which Arnold never mentions) how she became a star and remained in the film business for so long, after alienating her co-workers (no one from the film industry came to honor her in TIYL) and badmouthing the industry that made her rich and famous. Farmer may not not have deserved the treatment she received in the asylums, but, according to those who knew her, she was mentally ill and those treatments were the standard of her time. Arnold delves into possible government conspiracies against FF, and some of his theories border on the ludicrous--it seems everybody was plotting to destroy Frances. He also claims Frances was raped in the asylum by hundreds of soldiers from a nearby army base, without naming a single source to verify this claim. From reading Shadowland, one leaves with a feeling that perhaps Arnold is mentally ill himself. So read this book for entertainment, not to know Frances Farmer.

I do have some sympathy for Frances Farmer and her being committed to asylums for being insane when she was probably just an "in your face" rebellious young woman or manic depressive or something else that can be treated with medication now. I don't have sympathy for her communism. I find it very interesting that Frances studied drama at the University of Washington, went to Hollywood to become an actress/star, but oh, she hated all that glamour movie star business. She wanted to be a communist, share and share alike. Yeah right. If she hated Hollywood and all it stood for, why did she go there to begin with? Please don't make me laugh and tell me she didn't know how Hollywood was. Hollywood was the dream factory in the 1930s. Stars were worshipped. That was the "golden era" of Hollywood.

Frances had a real rebellious streak. She was born too early. She should have been young in the 1960s. She wouldn't have been committed to an asylum. She would have been going around with Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Jane Fonda, you get my drift. Anti-establishment was hip in the 60s, not in the 30s and 40s.

Shadowland by William Arnold is one of the few books available about Frances Farmer. Farmer was an actress in the late 1930s and early 1940s that was institutionalized, and as some believe, this was due to her political beliefs rather than mental illness. Today, Shadowland is still sought after and is somewhat hard to get a hold of, but is a valuable book as it sheds light on a captivating actress and what happened to her.

Shadowland is an attention-grabbing book that is hard to put down and reads quickly. This book is basically an outline of William Arnold's progress as he attempts to solve the mystery of Frances Farmer. Arnold recounts the life of Farmer from various documents and personal interviews of people that claim to have known her. More than half of this book is about Farmer's life before she was institutionalized, and only after 150 pages does it get into her psychiatric involvement.

This book makes a great companion to Farmer's autobiography. Although Arnold does point out information that shows the autobiography may be inaccurate, for the most part, Shadowland does not entirely contradict the autobiography. Shadowland is an important book to read for anyone interested in knowing more about what happened to Frances Farmer.

I first read this book when I was 14 years old. I had no idea who Frances Farmer was, except that she was the subject of a Nirvana song. The music may have brought me to Shadowland, but Farmer's life and Arnold's prose kept me captivated. I read it again at age 15, then 17, and then just recently at 20. Six years later, this book still hits me hard. Shadowland will stick with you.

This is the book that seems to have introduced most people to Frances Farmer. It is chilling, gut-wrenching and completely riveting--until you discover it is largely fiction. Arnold admitted as much in a lawsuit he brought against the producers of the feature film "Frances," which was based upon his book (though the producers denied it). The basis for his claim was that his book, and therefore the film, had "fictionalized" elements (including the alleged lobotomy) which were not based on public record, therefore the film's producers had violated his copyright. The Judge in that case, in ruling against Arnold, raked Arnold over the coals for representing and marketing his book as non-fiction, then admitting afterward that it really wasn't. "Shadowland" is so rife with factual errors and outright misrepresentations that it would be funny, if it didn't so seriously distort what actually happened to this brave and valiant woman. There is an in-depth web article which goes into great detail about all the misrepresentations in this book, which can be found by Googling "Shedding Light on Shadowland."

This book has a sexy title, but little else to catch one's attention. There are a few pages on the Massascre itself and its significance in the War. The rest is all babbling filler for historic preservationists.

Sarah Farmer deserves high praise for the clear narration and helpful explanations throughout "Martyred Village." Other historians ought emulate her writing. She first describes the slaughter of 10 June 1944, SS troops killing the civilians of Oradour. She then places it in the context of 20th century France. Only nine months after the massacre, Charles de Gaulle solemnly visits the ruins. Quickly, Oradour becomes a site of pilgrimage. Disruption comes in 1953, when twenty-one soldiers of the SS are brought to trial in Bordeaux. Fourteen are Frenchmen from Alsace, thirteen conscripted by the Germans. Upon their conviction in court, the Alsatians were freed by amnesty granted by the National Assembly, yielding to protests from Strasbourg. The author's account continues to 1997. I appreciate the author's use of French and German names, ranks, and expressions. She clarifies the roles of the political parties. She treats well the topics of mourning, respect, memory, pilgrimage, and religion. As someone interested in electric transit, I hope someday to learn more of the rural tram from Limoges through Oradour, whatever its corporate name.

sarah farmer has brought about the first difinitive book based on the martyred village. instead on focusing on the rather well known facts of the horrific massmacre, she gives great insight and back ground to the events leading up and following the massacre. as well as giving a personal insight to it, using her own photography, she gives a great narrative and all round factually based book which gives alot of hard to get material. for those who have visited the site or simply an enthusiast, you need not look further than this compelling, easy to read book.

I bought this book thinking it was a biography of Petra Vela Kenedy. It sometimes mentions her in a chapter, but it is mentioned that she MUST have been happy, or she may have been SAD about some things, but the author is not using letters, diaries, etc. to document Petra's life. It is more of a history book, and should be considered as such. I dislike it very much and am sorry I spent the money to buy it.

Petra's Legacy: The South Texas Ranching Empire of Petra Vela and Mifflin Kenedy (Perspectives on South Texas)

Well documented history of the Kenedy family and South Texas. Excellent for research and a well told story of the beginning of the Sate of Texas.

I am a big Frances Farmer fan and I was looking forward to this book when I ordered it. All I knew was that it must be a novel about her, since I have not heard anything about the book. It's more about the characters who admire Frances than about her herself. Anyway, the book is bland and boring, and I couldn't finish it. It just went nowhere. I would stick with the other Frances books, "Shadowland" and "Will There Really Be A Morning". Both grabbed my attention immediately and didn't let go.

Being out of print, this book is expensive to buy. I wish I would have tried the library first.

This is a very interesting novel about a group of social misfits obsessed by the spirit of Frances Farmer. A must for any fan of this actress!