The cast list of distinguished actors who have become distinguished authors is short, and indeed as far as my own reading goes, I cannott think of anyone who rivals Sir Alec Guinness as both an actor of the utmost distinction and a writer of uncommon literary achievement. 

          Blessings in Disguise, which was originally published in 1986, is Sir Alec’s autobiography. It is a profoundly rich, subtly delineated series of sketches of self and others (among the latter, internationally famous British actors such as Gielgud and Richardson).