Phantom Lady chronicles the untold story of Hollywood's most powerful
female writer-producer of the 1940s. In 1933, Joan Harrison was a
twenty-six-year-old former salesgirl with a dream of escaping her stodgy
London suburb and the dreadful prospect of settling down with one of the
local boys. A few short years later, she was Alfred Hitchcock's
confidante and the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of his first American
film, Rebecca. Harrison had quickly grown from being the worst
secretary Alfred Hitchcock ever had to one of his closest collaborators,
critically shaping his brand as the "master of suspense." Forging an
image as "the female Hitchcock," Harrison went on to produce numerous
Hollywood features before becoming a television pioneer as the producer
of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. A respected powerhouse, she acquired a
singular reputation for running amazingly smooth productions--and
defying anyone who posed an obstacle. Author Christina Lane shows how
this stylish, stunning woman, with an adventurous romantic life, became
an unconventional but impressive auteur, one whom history has
overlooked.