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.
