The 384-page hardback tome is billed as the "definitive biography" of Smith, the stage and screen star who won a Tony Award for her performance in Lettice and Lovage and can currently be seen on the hit PBS series "Downton Abbey," among dozens of other credits.
Coveney's biography, according to press notes, draws "on personal archives, interviews and encounters with the actress, as well as conversations with immediate family and dear friends."
Formerly staff critic for the Financial Times, the Observer and the Daily Mail, Coveney has since 2006 been the chief critic for the West End website WhatsOnStage.com. His previous books include "The Citz," "The Aisle is Full of Noises," "The Andrew Lloyd Webber Story," "The World According to Mike Leigh," "Knight Errant: Memoirs of a Vagabond Actor" (with Robert Stephens) and "Ken Campbell: The Great Caper."
