The Many Lives Of Marilyn Monroe - Hardcover

Churchwell, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805078185 ISBN 13: 9780805078183

Publisher: Metropolitan Books, 2005

Synopsis

An investigation into the debates surrounding Monroe's life evaluates her numerous roles from sex symbol and innocent to crafty manipulator and dumb blonde, drawing on a wide range of published sources to consider the plausibility of numerous disputed facts while considering how her life reflected shifting cultural attitudes. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

"Refreshing...Her book has torn away layers of false readings and conspiracy theories."--"The New York Times
"Sarah Churchwell wades through the conflicting bios of the legend so that you don't have to. . . . She provides a fair accounting of the ink spilled thus far and calls attention to the many veils between Marilyn and her audience."--"The Village Voice
"This intelligent and subtle book reminds us that Marilyn Monroe, in our fantasies, was a Snow White we pretended was a Cinderella: the slipper was never going to fit. In telling us the real story of so many wild tales about this mythologized figure, this study shows us that there is truth in lies too, as Hollywood used to insist, if you get enough of them. And if--big if--your mind is as alert and agile as Sarah Churchwell's."--Michael Wood, author of "America in the Movies

"[A] sustained, strenuous critique of the lazy thinking, sloppy research, and overall softheadedness that characterize so much popular biographical writing."--A. O. Scott, " The New York Times Book Review" "Smart, graceful, and lucid, this is a veritable Sherman's March through the Marilyn oeuvre, with bodies--Mailer, Oates, Miller--strewn everywhere. Instead of a torch, however, Churchwell wields a rapier, and if she flays the authors, it is to lay bare the anatomy of authorship in all its tangled complexity."--Peter Biskind, author of "Down and Dirty Pictures" "Refreshing . . . Her book has torn away layers of false readings and conspiracy theories."--"The New York Times" "Humane and skeptical . . . Churchwell has written an extremely useful deconstruction of the piffle that has accreted around her subject over the years . . . offering realistic alternatives to spiraling fantasies."--Richard Schickel, "Los Angeles Times" "Ferociously smart . . . offers a rare combination of guilty pleasure and intellectual insight."--"Vogue""" Sarah Churchwell wades through the conflicting bios of the legend so that you don't have to. . . . She provides a fair accounting of the ink spilled thus far and calls attention to the many veils between Marilyn and her audience."--"The Village Voice" "This intelligent and subtle book reminds us that Marilyn Monroe, in our fantasies, was a Snow White we pretended was a Cinderella: the slipper was never going to fit. In telling us the real story of so many wild tales about this mythologized figure, this study shows us that there is truth in lies too, as Hollywood used to insist, if you get enough of them. And if--big if--your mind is as alert and agile as Sarah Churchwell's."--Michael Wood, author of "America in the Movies"

[A] sustained, strenuous critique of the lazy thinking, sloppy research, and overall softheadedness that characterize so much popular biographical writing. "A. O. Scott, The New York Times Book Review"

Smart, graceful, and lucid, this is a veritable Sherman's March through the Marilyn oeuvre, with bodies--Mailer, Oates, Miller--strewn everywhere. Instead of a torch, however, Churchwell wields a rapier, and if she flays the authors, it is to lay bare the anatomy of authorship in all its tangled complexity. "Peter Biskind, author of Down and Dirty Pictures"

Refreshing . . . Her book has torn away layers of false readings and conspiracy theories. "The New York Times"

Humane and skeptical . . . Churchwell has written an extremely useful deconstruction of the piffle that has accreted around her subject over the years . . . offering realistic alternatives to spiraling fantasies. "Richard Schickel, Los Angeles Times"

Ferociously smart . . . offers a rare combination of guilty pleasure and intellectual insight. "Vogue"

Sarah Churchwell wades through the conflicting bios of the legend so that you don't have to. . . . She provides a fair accounting of the ink spilled thus far and calls attention to the many veils between Marilyn and her audience. "The Village Voice"

This intelligent and subtle book reminds us that Marilyn Monroe, in our fantasies, was a Snow White we pretended was a Cinderella: the slipper was never going to fit. In telling us the real story of so many wild tales about this mythologized figure, this study shows us that there is truth in lies too, as Hollywood used to insist, if you get enough of them. And if--big if--your mind is as alert and agile as Sarah Churchwell's. "Michael Wood, author of America in the Movies""

"[A] sustained, strenuous critique of the lazy thinking, sloppy research, and overall softheadedness that characterize so much popular biographical writing." --A. O. Scott, The New York Times Book Review

"Smart, graceful, and lucid, this is a veritable Sherman's March through the Marilyn oeuvre, with bodies--Mailer, Oates, Miller--strewn everywhere. Instead of a torch, however, Churchwell wields a rapier, and if she flays the authors, it is to lay bare the anatomy of authorship in all its tangled complexity." --Peter Biskind, author of Down and Dirty Pictures

"Refreshing . . . Her book has torn away layers of false readings and conspiracy theories." --The New York Times

"Humane and skeptical . . . Churchwell has written an extremely useful deconstruction of the piffle that has accreted around her subject over the years . . . offering realistic alternatives to spiraling fantasies." --Richard Schickel, Los Angeles Times

"Ferociously smart . . . offers a rare combination of guilty pleasure and intellectual insight." --Vogue

"Sarah Churchwell wades through the conflicting bios of the legend so that you don't have to. . . . She provides a fair accounting of the ink spilled thus far and calls attention to the many veils between Marilyn and her audience." --The Village Voice

"This intelligent and subtle book reminds us that Marilyn Monroe, in our fantasies, was a Snow White we pretended was a Cinderella: the slipper was never going to fit. In telling us the real story of so many wild tales about this mythologized figure, this study shows us that there is truth in lies too, as Hollywood used to insist, if you get enough of them. And if--big if--your mind is as alert and agile as Sarah Churchwell's." --Michael Wood, author of America in the Movies

About the Author:

Sarah Churchwell is now a professor of American literature and culture at the University of East Anglia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Metropolitan Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0805078185
• ISBN 13: 9780805078183
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 371