In My Father's Shadow

“An intimate, candid yet loving, very personal portrait of the complicated, contradictory, mercurial, and surpassingly brilliant man.” —Peter Bogdanovich

Out of all the many stars and celebrities Hollywood has produced, only a handful have achieved the fame—and, some would say, infamy—of Orson Welles, the creator and star of what is arguably the greatest American film, Citizen Kane. Many books have been written about him, detailing his achievements as an artist as well his foibles as a human being. None of them, however, has gotten so close to the real man as does Chris Welles Feder's beautifully realized portrait of her father.

In My Father's Shadow is a classic story of a life lived in the public eye, told with affection and the wide-eyed wonder of a daughter who never stopped believing that someday she would truly know and understand her elusive and larger-than-life father. The result is a moving and insightful look at life in the shadow of a legendary figure and an immensely entertaining story of growing up in the unreal reality of Hollywood, enhanced by Welles Feder's collection of many never-before-seen family photographs.

“[Feder's] triumphant journey toward independence and her posthumous reconciliation with her father's memory is the missing chapter in the story of Orson Welles, one only his first-born daughter can tell with such authority, grace, and wisdom.” —Joseph McBride, author of Whatever Happened to Orson Welles?

“A uniquely beautiful love story, as deeply felt as any book I've read about a father and daughter. . . . In My Father's Shadow is an irreplaceable human document that has and will always have meaning for us all.” —Austin Pendleton, actor, director, playwright