PASSPORT TO FAME (The Diana Dors Story) – Huw Prall (BOOKGUILD – ISBN: 978-1-912083-38-1)
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
I was lucky enough to meet Diana Dors later in her career when we were both doing a show for television. It is one of those treasured memories of a very down to earth, lovely lady who had no airs and graces and within hours of meeting you felt you had been friends forever. In that respect, this book brought back a lot of memories for me and I certainly enjoyed reading it.
However, there is nothing new contained within its pages and it feels as if the contents have been gleaned from other sources rather than written afresh. It would never win any literary prizes for its writing and there are quite a few glaring proofreading errors.
The photographs are all printed on the same paper as the text and so quite a few of them suffer from it and aren’t quite as sharp as they should be – I would love to have seen some of them on glossy paper.
There is an extensive Filmography and Discography at the end of the book, covering Dors’ career and that could be a bit of an eye-opener for people who maybe simply think of her as a British sex symbol always compared to Marilyn Monroe. There was much more to this actress than that!
Her private life was turbulent and the fact that she never really found true love throughout her life is heart-breaking.
It may not be the best written book out there but in a strange way that actually makes it all the more endearing – I got through its 265 pages in one sitting. And I think any book that keeps this beautiful woman in the public memory is definitely worth reading.
Nick Wakeham
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