Edwards’s biography presents a complete picture of the late actress—and not just the boozing, drug-addicted caricature of a woman central to lesser biographies.

We learn, for example, that Garland saw it as her duty to provide for her family financially, a generosity that her mother Ethel exploited with disastrous results. Above all, Judy Garland sought to please, whether it was an audience or a studio head, and therein lies her powerful and heartbreaking story.