If you want a fun “beach read” even if you favor fiction over nonfiction, this new biography of the most famous movie star of all time is a great choice. Elizabeth is over 500 pages long, so you’ll need a tote bag that can hold some weight, but think of the good exercise you’ll get while walking to the beach!

J. Randy Taraborrelli admits that writing a biography nowadays that people will actually read is a challenge, but he has succeeded admirably here. Those of you too young to have seen Cleopatra or Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf during their original theater runs will be entranced by the antics of “Liz & Dick”—they make “Brangelina” look tame by comparison. On a beach in Italy during a huge rainstorm that halted the filming of Cleopatra, an eyewitness reported that: “Richard grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and pulled her toward the plaster façade of a palace wall, climbed a painter’s ladder and reached into a bucket. From it he retrieved an open bottle of wine. . . [They] passed the bottle back and forth, laughed almost the entire time, passionately kissing.” At that time they were both married to other people!

In spite of these frolics, Taylor and Burton achieved academy-award level performances in many of their films, most notably Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. They had a blinding beauty and screen presence that outshines most of today’s movie actors. Taraborrelli gives us an entertaining story, yet he extensively researched for accuracy, creating a work of historical significance. The author maintains that Dame Elizabeth privately gave permission for people close to her to speak freely to him. As with any unauthorized biography, the highs and lows of Taylor’s life are equally displayed, but his great admiration for this living icon is evident.