Life Among Redgraves

Widow of the noted stage and film actor Sir Michael Redgrave, mother of Vanessa, Colin and Lynn Redgrave, and grandmother of the accomplished young actress Natasha Richardson, Kempson, after more than 50 years on the stage, has become well known to Americans for her appearances in TV and film ( The Jewel in the Crown and Out of Africa ). In these seemingly guileless reminiscences, Lady Redgrave writes with candor, wit, restraint and some sadness about her background, beginnings in the theater in 1932, marriage and motherhood, the trials of moving and the problems of being married to a handsome matinee idol with a roving eye. In a final chapter , she reflects on her fear of not succeeding, the importance of work, her longing for the countryside, her affection for the royal family and her happiness with simple things. Photos. (August)