The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense

Today’s post is on The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense by Edward White. The cover is a picture of Alfred Hitchcock. It is 379 pages long and is published by W. W. Norton & Company. There is mild foul language, discussion of sex and sexuality, and no violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who is interested in Hitchcock, film history, and classic Hollywood. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock, Edward White explores the Hitchcock phenomenon—what defines it, how it was invented, what it reveals about the man at its core, and how its legacy continues to shape our cultural world.

The book’s twelve chapters illuminate different aspects of Hitchcock’s life and work: “The Boy Who Couldn’t Grow Up”; “The Murderer”; “The Auteur”; “The Womanizer”; “The Fat Man”; “The Dandy”; “The Family Man”; “The Voyeur”; “The Entertainer”; “The Pioneer”; “The Londoner”; “The Man of God.” Each of these angles reveals something fundamental about the man he was and the mythological creature he has become, presenting not just the life Hitchcock lived but also the various versions of himself that he projected, and those projected on his behalf.

From Hitchcock’s early work in England to his most celebrated films, White astutely analyzes Hitchcock’s oeuvre and provides new interpretations. He also delves into Hitchcock’s ideas about gender; his complicated relationships with “his women”—not only Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren but also his female audiences—as well as leading men such as Cary Grant, and writes movingly of Hitchcock’s devotion to his wife and lifelong companion, Alma, who made vital contributions to numerous classic Hitchcock films, and burnished his mythology. And White is trenchant in his assessment of the Hitchcock persona, so carefully created that Hitchcock became not only a figurehead for his own industry but nothing less than a cultural icon.

Ultimately, White’s portrayal illuminates a vital truth: Hitchcock was more than a Hollywood titan; he was the definitive modern artist, and his significance reaches far beyond the confines of cinema.

Review- An interesting look at Hitchcock over the course of his life and work and where the two interact with each other. White starts at the beginning of Hitchcock’s life so that the reader can understand his childhood and how it influenced his films and career. White does good research, he can get access to some private family papers and the like to add depth to narrative. White does not cover-up the rumors around Hitchcock but he focuses on the films themselves. I enjoyed this book. I am a huge fan of Hitchcock and his films. White takes the reader into the film room with Hitchcock and the people that he surrounded himself with. We get to see how the films that Hitchcock made were made and how he worked with his talent from writers to actors. If you are looking for a book about Hitchcock and his films, then I would recommend this book. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.