Marilyn and Her Books
The Literary Life of Marilyn Monroe
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's birth and with full cooperation of the Monroe estate, an investigation into the literary life of the Hollywood icon and actress, from the author of Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz and Dorothy Parker in Hollywood.
Far from the spotlights of the Hollywood film sets and the flashbulbs of the press, Marilyn Monroe was a great reader and lover of books. Her association with writers did not stop at reading their words on the page. She was, of course, briefly married to one of America’s best-known playwrights, Arthur Miller, and met a number of other writers who moved in his literary world. But she also met authors independently of Miller, many of whom were fans of her films and keen to meet her.
Through her deep research, Gail Crowther delves into Marilyn’s personal book collection and recounts some of these meetings, like when she shared an apartment with Shelley Winters in West Hollywood, where they entertained Dylan Thomas and Christopher Isherwood for drinks (probably several drinks), after which Monroe arranged for Thomas to meet his childhood hero, Charlie Chaplin. Or when Life magazine arranged for Monroe to be interviewed by Dame Edith Sitwell at the Sunset Tower Hotel, and Sitwell was both charmed and blown away by Monroe’s intelligence.
Marilyn And Her Books: The Literary Life of Marilyn Monroe charts the intellectual life of a screen legend, revealing how Monroe, who left high school before graduation, embarked on an impressive and progressive program of self-education, hungry for knowledge and devouring books as an active and engaged reader. Her personal library reflects this inquiring mind.
In 2026, for her centenary, this book showcases Marilyn Monroe the reader. Because, at the end of her life, it was not her jewels or her furs, shoes, or dresses that she cared about. It was her books.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Biographer Crowther (Dorothy Parker in Hollywood) delivers an intimate exploration of the personal library of actor and model Marilyn Monroe. Crowther analyzes Monroe's 400-plus book collection—which was auctioned off several decades after her death—along with interviews and Monroe's diaries to shed light on the significant role books played in her life. While she favored poetry, plays, psychology, Russian novels, and banned books, Monroe had a deeply curious mind that pushed her to read widely across genres and subject matters, Crowther demonstrates. She alleges that misogyny led to unfounded skepticism about Monroe's intelligence, with people often expressing doubt about her proclivity or even ability to read. But, as Crowther shows, Monroe turned to reading to cope with the stress of Hollywood and books greatly influenced her art. For example, she read numerous works on acting, such as Konstantin Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares, which encouraged her to mine her life experiences to add depth to her performances. Her influence on her husband, the playwright Arthur Miller, is also elucidated, including how he wrote characters and scripts based on her. By illuminating and uplifting Monroe's love of books, Crowther helps rewrite the narrative that cast the actor as a "dumb blonde" and takes seriously the impact Monroe had on film and culture. This is an enlightening study of a misunderstood icon. Photos.
