Although Alfred Hitchcock is well-known for his interviews, he also wrote extensively about the cinema during the course of his life. The writings gathered together in this book are meditations on film art in general, as well as attempts to define his own art in particular, expressed in a manner that reflects the delight that he took in film-making. The essays focus directly on Hitchcock's life, his films and his film practice. He deals with fear, the mechanics of suspense, and the position of women in his films and in the audience - and in the process he reveals a great deal about the complex creation and manipulation of his public persona. The pieces also include a description of how he proposed to his wife.