From Booklist
Leigh, biographer to the stars (including Liza Minelli, Prince Edward, and JFK Jr.), has apparently discovered a more innovative method for exploiting celebrities. In this weird novel, Leigh has imagined several years of correspondence between Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy. Although it is not badly written and is fairly compelling to read, the stereotypes (emotional nutcase and slutty sex-maniac Marilyn versus the Queen of all established society, Jacqueline Kennedy) are overblown, and reading it feels somehow inappropriate. The novel takes place during the years between Marilyn's marriage to Joe DiMaggio (who doesn't come off looking very good here) and her alleged affair with President Kennedy (which she confesses to Mrs. Kennedy in full, lurid detail). In addition, while Leigh clearly states that this is a novel, she incorporates actual events as well as footnotes that blur the line between fiction and reality. There will likely be many, many readers requesting this book. Kathleen Hughes
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Review
"Leigh’s imagined correspondence between two fabled goddesses of the twentieth century...is utterly fascinating....I began to think I was reading the real thing." - Dominick Dunne
Review
"Leigh’s imagined correspondence between two fabled goddesses of the twentieth century...is utterly fascinating....I began to think I was reading the real thing." - Dominick Dunne
The Secret Letters: of Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy FROM THE PUBLISHER
The Secret Letters is a thrilling, compulsive novel with a unique premise: What if Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy--the two most iconic women of our time--had met and begun a secret correspondence?
A compelling page-turner set against the glittering backdrop of Hollywood and Washington during the 1950s and 1960s, The Secret Letters presents Marilyn and Jackie as you have never seen them before. As the story unfolds, we discover the two legends, the wife and the mistress, as friends and enemies, both in love with the same man--Jack Kennedy.
Author Wendy Leigh has created a daring concept and delivers it in fascinating detail. Each letter is rich with factual research on both women, the turbulent era in which they lived and loved, and the people who touched their lives.
A dazzling tour de force of empathy and imagination, The Secret Letters is a hypnotic read.
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