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John - by Cynthia Lennon
(Read by the Author) AudioBook CD
This isn't Cynthia Lennon's first book about her legendary ex-husband. A Twist of Lennon--a slim volume that John tried to suppress on grounds of libel--came out in 1978. But now, 25 years after his death, she finally feels ready to tell the "full and truthful story" of their life together. Why? In his foreword, son Julian writes of their being "dismissed or at best treated as insignificant bit players" in the story of John's life; it's Cynthia's goal, with John, to set the record straight. She does make a case for being more than just "the impressionable young girl who fell for him, then trapped him into marriage," and it's moving to read, in his own words, of John's love for his son. And while there's nothing new in her account of the Fab Four's rise to fame, as the greatest success story of the rock era, it's a legend that bears retelling. But most salient of all are Cynthia's sketches of pain, regret, and intimidation. John was indeed a brilliant, loving man, but he was also "passionately jealous," "verbally cutting," sometimes abusive, and often neglectful. (It is hinted that his behavior may have paralleled that of the woman who raised him, his Aunt Mimi.) Unfortunately, Cynthia's "response to John's provocative and cruel behavior was to stick by him more solidly than ever...[feeling] that if he could trust me and believe that I loved him he might soften."
It's not this dysfunction, however, but rather John's use of LSD, on which she blames the emotional "chasm" that led to the failure of their marriage. And though the Lennons' divorce comes relatively late in the book, the pages that follow are by far the saddest, as they chronicle John's increasing distance from and neglect of his former family--especially Julian, who would only see his father three times after he moved to New York in 1971. It's no surprise that Cynthia lays much of the blame for this at the feet of Yoko Ono, who is described as controlling and insensitive, especially in the wake of John's murder. But even though there's a lot of bitterness and resentment in these pages, it's not overwhelming, being offset by Cynthia's fierce love for her son and her continuing affection for her ex-husband.
About the Author Cynthia Lennon
(From Wikipedia) Cynthia Lennon née Powell (born September 10, 1939) was the first wife of John Lennon.
Born in Blackpool, England, she grew up in Hoylake, Merseyside, not far from Liverpool. At 18 she was attending Liverpool College of Art, where she met Lennon (who was a year younger than her) and they began dating the following spring. In the summer of 1962, she discovered she was pregnant with his child.
They married on August 23 at the Mount Pleasant Registry Office in Liverpool. Their marriage was kept a secret at the request of The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, who believed The Beatles' female fans might lose interest if they knew Lennon was married. Epstein's wedding gift to the pair was an apartment he kept in Liverpool, so they could have a private home.
Their son, John Charles Julian Lennon, was born April 8 1963, at Sefton General Hospital in Liverpool.
The press found out about Lennon's marriage later that year, after Beatlemania swept the UK and Europe. Luckily his fans accepted Lennon's marriage and fatherhood as part of his unique character. Cynthia gained some favourable coverage in the press, and later had her own fan club - the only Beatle wife to have this happen in the sixties. Despite the positive aspects, the press and The Beatles' fans were always clamouring to get a glimpse of Julian, or photos of mother and son, or probe Cynthia for details about John and their relationship, as they moved from address to address (which never stayed private long). Finally with the purchase and remodelling of Kenwood, a mock-Tudor-style house on forty acres, with a gated entrance, were Lennon, Cynthia, and Julian able to share a hint of domestic life.
While she was often photographed at Beatles movie premieres and special occasions, and sometimes with John and Julian at home, Cynthia was mostly a stay-at-home wife and mother, who was rarely involved in John's public life. Lennon felt that he'd missed out being raised by his aunt Mimi instead of his mother Julia, and insisted Cynthia be on hand for their son, only rarely leaving him with a babysitter or his grandmother, Lillian Powell. Cynthia also made a point of remaining essentially the same person John had known at Art school, intending to give him a sense of stability, but unwittingly pushing him further away at the same time. As John's experimentation with LSD started to shape his deeper, philosophical side, a rift grew between the couple and the relationship stagnated.
When The Beatles took a train to Wales to meet with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the summer of 1967, a policeman kept her from boarding, not knowing who she was, until the train was pulling out, with John calling out a window after her. Unable to catch up, Cynthia broke down in tears, and said later that the moment symbolised where she felt their marriage was heading. Lennon denied any dissatisfaction or infidelities, but confessed months afterwards that he had been with "hundreds" of other women since becoming famous: mostly groupies or escorts on Beatles tours (or fans invited backstage by their assistants), and occasional celebrities, and virtually all one-night stands. In an effort to better understand John, or recapture her appeal to him, she began experimenting with LSD herself, and also underwent rhinoplasty.
In May 1968, Cynthia returned from a holiday to discover John with Japanese artist Yoko Ono, who'd turned up several times when the couple went out, or asking for John at the gate at Kenwood. This time Yoko was plainly in residence — and wearing Cynthia's bathrobe, to boot. Surmising that this wasn't just another affair of John's, Cynthia grabbed a handful of items and walked out, spending the night with Jenny Boyd and John's friend Magic Alex at their apartment. The next (and final) time she saw Magic Alex, he broke the news that John was planning to sue her for divorce on grounds of adultery, and seek sole custody of Julian. Cynthia strongly denied any adultery and kept her resolve. She countersued Lennon for his earlier adultery with Yoko, which he denied — until the revelation that Yoko had been admitted to a maternity hospital, carrying Lennon's unborn baby (which she later miscarried), rendered the issue moot. Cynthia's divorce petition was granted, her decree nisi becoming final on November 8 1968, and she was awarded custody of Julian. Paul McCartney made occasional visits to Cynthia and Julian that year, to check up on them; on one visit, having himself just broken up with fiancée Jane Asher, he brought Cynthia a single red rose, and asked jokingly "How about it, Cyn? How about you and me getting married now?" She never forgot the gesture — or the laugh they both had at the idea.
On August 1 1970, Cynthia married Italian hotelier Roberto Bassanini, whom she met after parting with Lennon. She and Bassanini divorced in 1973.
During Lennon's separation from Yoko in 1973 and 1974, his girlfriend May Pang actively tried to get John to spend more time with Julian, forming a friendship with Cynthia in the process, which continued even after he and Yoko had reconciled.
In 1978, she married John Twist, an engineer from Lancashire. They divorced in 1983.
She published a memoir, A Twist of Lennon, in 1978, telling about her life before and with John, and carrying her own illustrations and poetry. John sued to block publication of the book, but lost.
After her divorce from John Twist, Cynthia changed her name back to Lennon by deed poll. She kept mementos of John for years, including never-published photographs, letters, and personal items, finally auctioning off many of them long after his death.
In September 2005, she published a new biography, simply titled John, that re-examined her life with Lennon and the years afterwards, including events following his death.
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