Marilyn Monroe by Barbara Leaming

In this book, Barbara Leaming has looked deep into the archives to discover the life of a woman who captured the hearts and imaginations of millions before her tragic death.

Oddly, the book is untraditional in that it starts with her meeting Arthur Miller for the first time. Perhaps with so many books about the blonde bombshell, this book needed to delve in at a different point with a new structure, but for me, I felt discomforted the whole way through and wanted to go back and ask loads of questions about the life before, about the little girl Norma Jean.

I do enjoy a Marilyn Monroe movie, there certainly is something about her that makes you want to stare at her and see what she’ll do next. She’s fascinating. But I’ve always felt like she was a sad figure, not someone you’d want to ever be like. However, I…