Marilyn Monroe is possibly one of the most scrutinised personalities of modern times. Her life has been the subject of countless biographies and her death and the last months leading up to it is one of the most discussed, debated and apparently unsolved mysteries since time began.
Marilyn is often the target of literary exploitation aimed to profit at her memory’s expense. This year there seems to be an industry working toward this goal as biographers would have us believe she was racing in the fast lane during her final summer when the truth is that she was actually reading Horticulture magazine, purchasing flowering plants and shrubs for her garden and researching authentic Mexican furniture for her Spanish Colonial style bungalow she had bought that spring.
Gary Vitacco-Robles has meticulously researched Marilyn’s last months with the help various sources and rare photographs of the interior from 1962 and detailed illustrations that suggest the home’s appearance during Marilyn’s tenancy.
This book gives us a glimpse into the very ordinary, every day life of Marilyn Monroe the world doesn’t often get a chance to see, reminding us of her extraordinary life and accomplishments. A journey toward self-discovery and improvement. The difference between the public image and the real woman, she becomes less a myth and more a living, breathing woman.
By Fraser Penney
