MIA and Woody: Love and Betrayal

Groteke, who was in college when she was hired by Mia Farrow as a nanny, admits that her account of the acrimonious, headline-grabbing breakup of Farrow and Woody Allen ``is not intended as an objective account.'' True to her word, she praises Farrow as a devoted parent (``a mother with a capital M'') while disparaging Allen as ``rude and antisocial.'' The trouble in Farrow's ``unconventional household,'' comprised of her 11 adopted and biological children (including a crack baby and a blind Vietnamese child), began when Farrow found photos taken by Allen of her adopted teenage daughter Soon-Yi in the nude. Subsequently, Farrow brought charges that Allen sexually molested their seven-year-old daughter, Dylan. A numbing round of lawyers, psychiatrists and extended court testimony ensues, laced with occasional tidbits (e.g., that Allen is neurotically fearful of germs) and an intimation that Mia's sister Steffi had an affair with Allen. Writing with Rosen, a senior writer at People magazine, Groteke portrays two pampered celebrities who have lost their grasp of reality. Photos not seen by PW. 100,000 first printing. (May)