Probably best-known to many as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, Ian McKellen had a long and illustrious career on stage and screen, and was an ardent campaigner for LGBT rights, before ever donning the wizard’s cloak. In this intimate and affectionate biography Garry O’Connor traces McKellen’s private and public lives, and his achievement as an actor, whether in repertory in Coventry or in Hollywood, never forsaking his ‘lifelong love affair’ with Shakespeare.