"Not only an illuminating, beautifully written, and finally deeply disturbing exploration of a profoundly unresolvable personality, but an engaging, informative, and richly detailed study as anyone has done on the early days of the movies." —Boston Phoenix
"Whitfield provides a thorough and interesting documentation of Mary Pickford's unique and essential contribution to the American film industry." —Film & History
"an excellent resource on the early film industry and Mary Pickford in particular, presenting her as a filmmaker and entrepreneur of amazing instincts." —Film & History
"Whitfield's writing strikes a nice balance between the personal and professional elements of Pickfords life." —Library Journal
"Will stand as the definitive biography." —Library Journal (starred review)
"Just as if a new wing had opened in a national museum or a lost symphony had been restored to the national repertory... Whitfield succeeds in giving us back a memory we thought we didn't want." —New Yorker
"A knockout of a biography." —Newsweek
"Whitfield creates a compelling portrait of a woman who was not only a far more inventive actress than history has recalled, but the first female movie mogul." —Past Times Newsletter
"A happy surprise—smart and tough-minded, yet respectful." —Pauline Kael
"A poignant study of a woman reaching her peak early in life, and having to cope with loss of work, fame and family while still relatively young. She gives more of a feeling for the real woman behind the legend—and the woman Pickford wanted the world to think she was." —Silents Majority
"A nuanced, three-dimensional portrait of a complex woman whose story is a fascinating case study of a seminal period in Hollywood." —Washington Post
"Whitfield's writing strikes a nice balance between the personal and professional elements of Pickford's life." —Library Journal