John Osborne: The Many Lives Of The Angry Young Man

John Osborne, an unapologetic rebel and a key figure among the Angry Young Men, gained fame with his 1956 play "Look Back in Anger," which transformed postwar theater and established his reputation as a leading British playwright. This biography, informed by his secret notebooks detailing his hidden anguish and depression, explores Osborne's complex life. Born in 1929 in South London to a tubercular father and a barmaid mother, his early life was marked by illness, boxing, and school expulsion. He began as a journalist before joining a repertory theatre, honing his craft as both actor and dramatist. His tumultuous private life included five marriages, estranged relationships, and personal conflicts, culminating in his last words, "I have sinned," spoken on his death in 1994. Drawing from interviews and research, this biography presents a nuanced portrait of a contradictory genius—romantic yet melancholic, rebellious yet patriotic, charming yet formidable.