Oona: Living in the Shadows: A Biography of Oona O'Neill Chaplin

I really like Oona O'Neill Chaplin. What a wonderful woman she was! This book quotes person after person who knew her, from all periods of her life. They say that Oona was a woman who radiated a sort of grace, who had an innate elegance that set her apart, but who did not lose a down-to-earth quality, who loved to fuss over her brood of children, who literally basked in having babies and loved having her children around her (she had eight children altogether), who possessed a radiant and fragile beauty, an almost elfin quality, a naturalness, an easy sense of humor, a lack of ostentation, with a sly calm and native sweetness, who again and again is described as creating for everyone around her a sense of serenity and well-being. People would travel to Switzerland to see Charlie Chaplin - but they came away remembering Oona. Even as a young teenager she was intellectually curious, a girl who would go out on a lake in a boat with a friend or two and read plays aloud to each other; she was popular and social, but in a shy, slightly sorrowful way; she always kind, not exciting jealousy in other girls. Was her father, the famous playwright, justified in rejecting her? No, not at all. He never tried to get to know her, and he looked at everything she did in the worst possible light. His negative view of her was contradicted by everyone else who knew her - and I mean, everyone. Oona maintained life-long friendships with women and with men, and not once in her life did she intentionally try to hurt anyone emotionally, financially, or physically. Not the slightest hint of cheating on Charlie, or of cheating anyone in any way. She helped her brother Shane and his family, her mother, and her step-"son" Sydney Chaplin. The worst that can be said of her is that she failed to intervene fast enough on occasions where Charlie was being overbearing and abusive to a child or a visitor, and some of her children felt overlooked. As to those children, probably they were a bit overlooked. But in this age of multiple divorces, I suspect that many thousands of children today are far more overlooked by their parents than any of Oona's were. And Chaplin was too demanding; she had to balance him against them and such balances will never leave everyone satisfied. Frankly, this books shows that Chaplin was unworthy of her - he was overbearing and doctrinaire in the way older men can get, and his opinions weren't very insightful or sensitive. For example, he had the "Christmas is too materialist" crotchety-ness of those who care more about feeling superior than for their children's enjoyment, while for Oona Christmas was a favorite holiday filled with presents and tree-decorating. Other reviewers here seem to think that this book fails to show us Oona. But in fact she shines forth on every page. Perhaps their problem is that they don't consider a person such as she was to be very much of a person. But this reflects the biases of our times, which discoun

Since Charlie Chaplin held such a spellbinding fascination for me, I decided to look up the life story of his last and most beloved wife, Lady Oona O'Neill Chaplin. After retracing the roots of her 19th-century ancestors, which included talented actors and gorgeous ladies, the story opens to the stormy courtship of Eugene O'Neill the renowned playwright and a beautiful young authoress who would one day become parents to the pretty little Oona. Unfortunately, O'Neill turned out to be such a mean-spirited old toad so deadbeat he made Prince Charles seem such a warm-hearted saint in comparsion. Thus his great arrogance eventually destroyed the lives of more than a few people involved, including his sons who had ended up on drugs and alcohol. Nevertheless, the innocent young princess relentlessly continued her persistent waif-like attempts to attract her father's attention, including her Miss America-like debut into a ritzy New York club and going into acting in Hollywood. Instead, she got the ultimate brush-off. But then - a great knight in a shining armor upon a white steed came along to scoop up the lost little Oona into his strong, capable arms. This gallant knight is none other than Charlie Chaplin himself! Despite the very fact he was reputed as a selfish, abusive old egotist who used to prey on pubescent little girls, he actually turned out to be the perfect answer to young Oona's desperate prayers as well as the vice versa. So happily, Chaplin's new child-bride settled down to a blissful domestic life of hosting parties and making babies. Unfortunately, this story just didn't stop at the "happily ever after" part. Instead, everything went into a spiralling nosedive from there. First, Charlie Chaplin was ruthlessly hounded for his past "wrongdoings" as well as being unfairly labelled a "communist" and then the whole family was kicked right out of America altogether. And then there was the painful, inevitable part of aging and dying on Chaplin's part, though Oona kept smiling graciously through the whole ordeal. Finally, though the old man truly loved his youthful wife, he kept an iron grip on her so powerful she was left lost and helpless once again at his death. A very sad but true-to-life fractured fairy tale all about the "Daddy's girl" who never was.

I have long been interested in this woman, first observed as a girlhood friend of Carol Marcus Matthau in her book. The name alone is intriguing, and the story behind is is just as fascinating. One feels a bit let down after reading this book to think of how abandoned she must have felt in her girlhood, and how saved she was to have found Charlie Chaplin. Never having developed herself as an individual, it was not surprising to read that her life virtually fell apart after her husband's death. The reality is that marriage to him was her life, and when he was finished, so was she. I got the impression she was happy enough to have it end that way, although it is sad all the same for the reader. A very interesting story.

I've been facinated with Oona Chaplin ever since I read Jerry Epstein's biography of Charlie Chaplin. It was clear that he was very much in love with her, and there's no question why. From Scovell's biography we come off with the impression that Oona O'Neill Chaplin was a smart, funny lovely woman who loved Charlie Chaplin with her whole heart. When he died, her heart broke and never could be mended. Scovell paints such a sympathetic portrait of her that we want to travel back in time and tell her. "It's going to be okay! You're going to get through this!" Unfortuatly, we can't-but thanks to Scovell's wonderful biography, we can see who hid in the shadows of her father and husband most of her life.

Abandoned by her father, Eugene O'Neill, Oona transformed this hurt into love and care for her much older husband, Charlie Chaplin. This book details her life, and gives us great insight into what family, fame,love and loyalty mean in this century. While not known for any traditional arts, such as acting or writing (though, it is clear from this biography that she may have been successful in either form), Oona's art was her life itself; her ability to deal with a father who rejected her, a sibling she looked up to but could not help, and a husband to whom she devoted herself to as he lived out his life in a time when the world was rapidly changing.The writing is clear and without pretension. Ms. Scovell realizes that Oona was a complex person and conveys that to the reader. Throughout the book, the nature of Oona O'Neill Chaplin is always apparent --- a tribute to a well-researched biography.