9780785843740Synopsis: “The camera loved Marilyn, and she loved it right back. In this luxurious volume, get to know the enigmatic star through iconic and rare photos, intimate stories, and removable memorabilia. Everyone knows the classic photographs of Marilyn Monroe: in the dress she wore to John F. Kennedy’s birthday, or leaning out of a balcony over the streets of New York City, or famously standing over the subway grates while shooting The Seven Year Itch. Behind the glamour, we’ve also heard the sad stories: her mother’s institutionalization, her three failed marriages, her own struggles with mental health, her surprising death that still leaves us with questions. Marilyn Monroe: A Photographic Life delves into the life of the star—before, during, and after she became a “Blonde Bombshell.” Born Norma Jeane Mortenson (the Baker came later), she had a troubled childhood that culminated in her self-described “inferiority complex.” But all the while, she dreamed of something more. Along with the stories are fabulous rare photographs and reproductions of frameable memorabilia. Further chapters cover Marilyn’s marriages to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, her time in England and New York, and her rise as one of Hollywood’s most sought after starlets. Through it all—the self doubts, the illnesses, the isolation—we see Marilyn triumph with the help of friends and confidantes and her own tenacious will of knowing what she wanted.
We see time and again the depths of Marilyn’s heart and her capacity to care for others. “I want to love and be loved more than anything else in the world,” she once said, and with Marilyn Monroe: A Photographic Life, you can’t help but oblige. “

My Review

Wow this book is a definite must for Marilyn fans. It’s full of photographs and accounts of people who met her before she was famous and whilst she was a huge star.

I learnt a lot about about her early life and how she worked hard to get noticed by the film studios. How she would let photographers and gossip columnists know where she’d be and with whom! She definitely knew how to play the game!

I read The Girl by Michelle Morgan a few years ago, and knew that there was a whole lot more to Marilyn that the parts she played on the silver screen. This books also confirms that she was a very serious woman who wanted to be taken seriously, and there’s lots of anecdotes about this, and comments from people who knew and liked her at the time.

I loved discovering how she loved meeting her fans and enjoyed getting to know a little bit about them, like talking to cab drivers or meeting soldiers after a performance during the Korea War. 

The author has packed a lot into this book, so it’s a must if you’re a fan, especially as there are fabulous rare photographs and reproductions of frameable memorabilia as well.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for my digital copy via the NetGalley App