Description Forced into returning to London because of his manager and partner's fast deteriorating health, Bogarde has to re-adapt to life in the West London neighbourhoods that groomed him as an aspiring young actor.
But with his fame fading and his own life descending into old age, the entire process becomes rather difficult to endure.
He stalks the streets like an 'apologetic turtle' and avoids society, announcing with his effortless wit that he shall, from then on, only do 'matinees' because he is too tired to go out in the evenings.
Although this memoir finds Bogarde at his most vulnerable he retains the lucidity and charm that makes his writing so enjoyable.
As ever, he expresses a deep sentimentality that ensures no detail goes unnoticed or unfelt.
First published in 1993, this is one of Dirk Bogarde's latter memoirs.
About the Author Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist.
Initially a matinee idol, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death In Venice.
As well as completing six novels, Bogarde wrote several volumes of autobiography.
Between 1947 and 1991, Bogarde made more than sixty films.
For over two decades he lived in Italy and France, where he began to write seriously.
In 1985 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of St Andrews and in 1990 was promoted to Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc A short walk from harrods: a memoir/dirk bogarde
