Gillian Armstrong is a prolific and versatile film director whose work spans over five decades, three continents and numerous movie forms. Like other directors acclaimed for their accomplishments across a suite of movie genres, Armstrong makes movies with a distinct and recurring set of concerns. These include a focus on biography or life narrative; an interest in adapting popular 'literary' stories into cinematic forms; charismatic and often eccentric female characters; and issues of social class and exclusion.

Committed to creating stories featuring strong female characters, Armstrong has significantly revised period adaptations, biographical story-telling and all forms of documentary, from a feminist perspective. This book argues that Armstrong is a genuine 'auteur' in the classic sense of the term and that her work in small- to mid-budget films has allowed for the emergence of a persistent set of themes and characters.