The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: New biography reveals the many faces of cinema’s greatest auteur of the thriller

A strict upbringing and deep-seated insecurity are credited with making Alfred Hitchcock into cinema’s master of the thriller in this enjoyable biography

Directing provided Alfred Hitchcock with the sense of control he so badly needed, but also gave free rein to his sadistic streak. Picture: Getty Images

BIOGRAPHY

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

By Edward White

WW Norton, €26.50

Alfred Hitchcock and Sean O’Casey had a complex relationship. The British film director greatly admired the Irish playwright’s work Juno and the Paycock and made a big-screen version in 1930.

Neither man was happy with the result, however, and a meeting over dinner about another possible collaboration came to nothing. More than 30 years later, ...