The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe

There are many Marilyns: sex goddess and innocent child, crafty manipulator and dumb blonde, liberated woman and tragic loner.

 

The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe reviews the stories that have framed the greatest Hollywood legend, all the while revealing us to ourselves: our conflicted views on women, our tormented sexual attitudes, our ambivalence about success, our fascination with self-destruction.

 

In incisive and passionate prose, critic Sarah Churchwell uncovers the shame, belittlement, and anxiety that we bring to the story of a woman we supposedly adore, and, in the process, rescues a Marilyn Monroe who is far more complicated and credible than the one we think we know.