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

Awards:   Winner of Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award 2022
Author:   Edward White
Publisher:   WW Norton & Co
ISBN:  

9781324022121


Pages:   400
Publication Date:   22 July 2022
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
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The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense


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Awards

  • Winner of Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award 2022

Overview

"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."

Full Product Details

Author:   Edward White
Publisher:   WW Norton & Co
Imprint:   WW Norton & Co
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 21.10cm
Weight:   0.307kg
ISBN:  

9781324022121


ISBN 10:   1324022124
Pages:   400
Publication Date:   22 July 2022
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

Table of Contents

Reviews

Edward White's The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock is a pinata of literary pleasures. Learned and graceful, thoughtful and provocative, White cracks the Hitchcock code with deft analysis and fine writing. It's a high-stepping performance full of humor and depth. Walking a tightrope between criticism and biography, White places both the man and his myth in the cultural landscape of his times. In the process, he returns us to the films with a much more informed eye. A book to keep and to return to. -- John Lahr, author of Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh A provocative new way of thinking about biography... The radial structure vibrates, like Hitchcock's best films, with intuition and mystery. -- Parul Sehgal - The New York Times Perceptive and gracefully written, The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock is a bracing study of the master of suspense... It is a rare book that could pleasurably be twice as long. -- The Economist White combines his interpretive zest with sensitivity, clarity and knife-sharp phrasing, smartly dedicating each of his 12 chapters to a different facet of the director's personality: the voyeur, the entertainer, the womaniser, the family man... Anatomising someone of Hitchcock's stature risks an equally chaotic frenzy of stabs, but with these 12 scalpel strokes White cuts close to his subject's heart. -- Victoria Segal - The Sunday Times ... innovative biography of Alfred Hitchcock... Tracking Hitchcock's contemporary influence, White is an enterprising tour guide... I was happy to be reminded of Cornelia Parker's PsychoBarn, constructed in 2016 on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum in New York... And thanks to White, I went on an excursion to Leytonstone, Hitchcock's birthplace in east London... I was also pleased to learn from White about the lewd Hitchcock tribute in Eminem's Music to Be Murdered By. -- Peter Conrad - The Observer


"""Edward White’s The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock is a pinata of literary pleasures. Learned and graceful, thoughtful and provocative, White cracks the Hitchcock code with deft analysis and fine writing. It’s a high-stepping performance full of humor and depth. Walking a tightrope between criticism and biography, White places both the man and his myth in the cultural landscape of his times. In the process, he returns us to the films with a much more informed eye. A book to keep and to return to."" -- John Lahr, author of Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh ""A provocative new way of thinking about biography... The radial structure vibrates, like Hitchcock’s best films, with intuition and mystery."" -- Parul Sehgal - The New York Times ""Perceptive and gracefully written, “The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock” is a bracing study of the master of suspense... It is a rare book that could pleasurably be twice as long."" -- The Economist ""White combines his interpretive zest with sensitivity, clarity and knife-sharp phrasing, smartly dedicating each of his 12 chapters to a different facet of the director's personality: the voyeur, the entertainer, the womaniser, the family man… Anatomising someone of Hitchcock's stature risks an equally chaotic frenzy of stabs, but with these 12 scalpel strokes White cuts close to his subject's heart."" -- Victoria Segal - The Sunday Times """"... innovative biography of Alfred Hitchcock... Tracking Hitchcock's contemporary influence, White is an enterprising tour guide... I was happy to be reminded of Cornelia Parker’s PsychoBarn, constructed in 2016 on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum in New York... And thanks to White, I went on an excursion to Leytonstone, Hitchcock’s birthplace in east London... I was also pleased to learn from White about the lewd Hitchcock tribute in Eminem’s Music to Be Murdered By."" -- Peter Conrad - The Observer"


Author Information

Edward White is the author of The Tastemaker: Carl Van Vechten and the Birth of Modern America and has written for publications including the Paris Review. He lives in England.

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