"In this study of Lean's career, Howard Maxford takes a behind-the-scenes look at each of the director's films, chronicling their making and their subsequent reception by both audiences and critics. Lean's early work as a film editor, which led to his commission by Noel Coward to co-direct the landmark war drama In Which We Serve, is examined, along with Lean's self-imposed 14-year exile after a savage reception from critics to his penultimate film. His exile ended triumphantly with the release of A Passage to India." "Lean, the man away from the camera, is also revealed, including his six marriages and his strict Quaker upbringing."--BOOK JACKET.