Madly Deeply The Diaries of Alan Rickman Book Review

Piscean by birth—piscean in everything I think and do. My life swims one way, my work the other and yet it's the same breed. The ever-present objectivity—the 'once-remove'—is invaluable to me as an actor (for the most part—the great danger is lack of surprise, but I recognise that) and disastrous in relationships. Either I spend time keeping an even keel so as to avoid obstacles, or I get knotted up with watching, waiting, imposing. Will I ever just Let Be? Who puts this invisible telefoto lens over my eyes? It helps me to see and it makes me blind. What I enjoy as much as anything is to laugh from somewhere way down inside. And that begins to be like buried treasure.

—Alan Rickman, July 1976

Published in October 2022, Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman is a 450-page distillation of private journals the actor consistently maintained from 1993, after he'd achieved fame, to 2015, weeks before his death. Also included are excerpts from the 1970s and 1980s when Alan was journaling sporadically.

When it was announced in 2020 that Alan's diaries were going to be published, the prospect of reading something Alan himself had written was thrilling. While living, Alan had never written a book.

Early reports stated that Alan had intended for his diaries to be published. However, as the first reviews appeared ahead of the book's release in 2022, that point was questioned. It sounded as if Alan's diaries read merely like an aide-mémoire and a dumping ground for his private frustrations. Predictably, media coverage focused on Alan's criticism of his Harry Potter co-stars. While negative sound bites supply tempting clickbait, they don't provide a compelling reason to purchase the book. So, on the eve of publication, Alan's long-awaited diaries looked to be a disappointment.

As a result, someone who was hesitant to buy the book messaged me for clarification. Because I've been working with Alan since his death, she wanted to get his perspective from me. Had he intended for his diaries to be published? Does he approve of the book? That's what prompted this book review. I answer these questions and share channeled comments from Alan on the other side.

In the Introduction of Madly, Deeply, editor Alan Taylor answers whether the actor had intended for his diaries to be published: "Why he kept a diary is unclear. . . . We do not know whether Alan would like to have seen his diaries published but he did receive invitations to write books which could have drawn upon the material in them."

Taylor also provides a clear expectation for what readers can hope to gain from the book: "Madly, Deeply . . . tells the story of what it meant to be one of the most fêted and admired actors in the decades immediately before and after the dawn of the third millennium. There are highs and lows, glowing reviews and bad, performances that were a joy and others when it seemed that everything that could go wrong did. . . . Reading this book is as close as we can get to being there ourselves and to encountering the real Alan Rickman."

Taylor states that the book was culled from more than a million words. Unfortunately, the editing process and the criteria used for selecting passages weren't explained. Like other reviewers, I have mixed feelings about whether these diaries should have been published. Frequent lack of context was disappointing, and Alan's personal shorthand made his meaning difficult to discern at times. I'd hoped to breeze through the book quickly, but it took longer to finish than anticipated because I had to read slowly to ensure comprehension. Nevertheless, the man behind the public image leaped off the pages and immersed me in his world, however brief and hurried his notes. Far from sensationalistic, the book moved me in deep unexpected ways and I'm glad I read it.

I give the actor kudos for consistently maintaining a diary for more than twenty years, right up until he knew he was dying and no longer had the strength to write. As he was a busy globe-trotter throughout his career, I'm amazed he found time to jot down anything. He covered many topics that were fascinating: roles he played, social events with friends and family, home renovations, movie and play reviews, world events, and other observations.