Sir John Gielgud displayed a remarkable talent for writing as well as performing, publishing several books about his life and profession. This unique volume brings together two of these for the first time: EARLY STAGES, his classic memoir of childhood, of growing up and taking to the stage, with vivid evocations of his family and the people he knew and worked with, from his great aunt Ellen Terry to Noël Coward, Somerset Maugham and Peggy Ashcroft; and BACKWARD GLANCES, a collection of essays in which Gielgud shares memories of a life lived to the full, reflects on a range of theatrical matters, and draws witty and affectionate portraits of friends and colleagues such as Sybil Thorndike, Vivien Leigh and Charles Laughton. Written with grace, erudition, warmth and wit, GIELGUD ON GIELGUD provides an irresistible insight into the world of Sir John Gielgud.