A charismatic, frightened young woman haunted by her Viking homeland. A breathtakingly beautiful, supremely talented actress under the spell of a jealous and possessive director. A movie goddess who left Hollywood at the height of her fame, drifting in a self-created exile she often bitterly--though privately--regretted. A 20th Century Sphinx whose complex personality has never been completely revealed. Until now.

Greta Garbo: A Life Apart is the first comprehensive biography to fully capture Greta Garbo's hidden personal life, as well as her role as a film icon, from a female perspective. Brimming with rare photos and startling new information--based on unpublished personal letters and conversations with Garbo's closest friends, co-workers and lifelong associates--A Life Apart dramatically deconstructs the myriad misconceptions surrounding the actress' life.

Author Karen Swenson finally unmasks the woman behind the myths, and presents us with the definitive biography of the century's most enigmatic star. Intimate, compelling and often harrowing, this is the true story of an extraordinary woman who lived two lives: one for the camera, the other intensely private and perpetually apart.