Laurence Leamer (Photo credit Jacek Gancarz)
Join us in welcoming Laurence Leamer, author of Hitchcock’s Blondes (Publisher: Penguin Random House)
"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, Leamer once again nails the gossip and glamour of the Golden Age of Hollywood where he delves into the fascinating, complex lives of Alfred Hitchcock and the celebrated blonde actresses he was obsessed with. Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak, and Tippi Hedren created iconic characters in some of the most celebrated movies of all time. While there have been books focusing on Hitchcock and his films, Leamer does here what he does best: portrays the women with intimacy and empathy in unforgettable portraits that put them squarely in charge of their own stories.
Alfred Hitchcock was fixated—not just on the dark, twisty stories that became his hallmark, but also by the blonde 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. Biographies have been written about Alfred Hitchcock, but never has there been an account of his life and work told through the lens of the actresses who helped launch his career. As with Capote’s Women, Leamer's empathetic retelling acknowledges their complex stories and allows their biographies to take priority.
About the author:
Laurence Leamer is the New York Times bestseller author of nineteen books. As a young man, he worked in a French factory, a West Virginia coal mine, and a school in the mountains of Nepal. The subjects Leamer has written about are as varied as his life, from the costs of power in Washington to the travails of celebrity in Hollywood, and from the legal struggles of two Pittsburgh lawyers against a coal mogul to the games played in the elegant salons of Palm Beach. The award-winning author’s books focusing on women have been particularly well regarded starting with The Kennedy Women, a number two New York Times bestseller. His recent book, Capote’s Women, a national bestseller, is being made into an eight-hour series starring Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Calista Flockhart, Molly Ringwald, and Tom Hollander. Leamer’s newest book, Hitchcock’s Blondes, is the second part of a trilogy about intriguing women involved with creative geniuses. The author lives in Palm Beach, Florida and Washington, D.C.
Author Laurence Leamer will be signing books purchased at the Palm Beach Book Store.
RSVPs are encouraged but not required.