Overview

Bestselling author of Capote’s Women Laurence Leamer shares an engrossing account of the enigmatic director Alfred Hitchcock that finally puts the dazzling actresses he cast in his legendary movies at the center of the story. Alfred Hitchcock was fixated—not just on the dark, twisty stories that became his hallmark, but also by the blond actresses who starred in many of his iconic movies. The director of North by Northwest, Rear Window, and other classic films didn’t much care if they wore wigs, got their hair coloring out of a bottle, or were the rarest human specimen—a natural blonde—as long as they shone with a golden veneer on camera. The lengths he went to in order to showcase (and often manipulate) these women would become the stuff of movie legend. But the women themselves have rarely been at the center of the story, until  now. In Hitchcock’s Blondes, bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer offers an intimate journey into the lives of eight legendary actresses whose stories helped chart the course of the troubled, talented director’s career—from his early days in the British film industry, to his triumphant American debut, to his Hollywood heyday and beyond. Through the stories of June Howard-Tripp, Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint, and Tippi Hedren—who starred in fourteen of Hitchcock’s most notable films and who bore the brunt of his fondness and sometimes fixation—we can finally start to see the enigmatic man himself. After all, “his” blondes (as he thought of them) knew the truths of his art, his obsessions and desires, as well as  anyone. From the acclaimed author of Capote’s Women comes an intimate, revealing, and thoroughly modern look at both the enduring art created by a man obsessed…and the private toll that fixation took on the women in his orbit.

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"""Laurence Leamer subverts the cliche of the ""Hitchcock blonde"" who was putty in the hands of a sado-masochistic director. His impressive book reveals a garden of polychromatic blondes, who are human beings as well as fine actresses, and whose disparate backstories and complicated relationships with Hitchcock, on and off the set, made for some of his greatest films."" –Patrick McGilligan, author of Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light ""In Hitchcock's Blondes, Laurence Leamer brings to life the remarkable golden goddesses of Hitchcock's films and shows how they often paid a price for his inability to charm and captivate them in real life. A guilty pleasure."" –Jon Krampner, author of Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success ""As riveting as any thriller by ‘The Master of Suspense,’ Hitchcock's Blondes illuminates how the director's fascination with his extraordinary assemblage of leading ladies often bordered on obsession. The iconic stars who captivated Hitchcock and audiences alike are brought vividly to life by Laurence Leamer. If you thought the high drama and intrigue that Hitch's ‘golden-haired girls’ encountered on screen was something, wait till you discover what went on behind the scenes."" —Mark Griffin, author of All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson"

"""Laurence Leamer subverts the cliche of the ""Hitchcock blonde"" who was putty in the hands of a sado-masochistic director. His impressive book reveals a garden of polychromatic blondes, who are human beings as well as fine actresses, and whose disparate backstories and complicated relationships with Hitchcock, on and off the set, made for some of his greatest films."" –Patrick McGilligan, author of Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light ""In Hitchcock's Blondes, Laurence Leamer brings to life the remarkable golden goddesses of Hitchcock's films and shows how they often paid a price for his inability to charm and captivate them in real life. A guilty pleasure."" –Jon Krampner, author of Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success"

Author Information

New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer is a leading biographer of the rich and powerful, including Capote’s Women, Madness Under the Royal Palms and The Kennedy Women, among many other books. He lives in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Florida.

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