Of Women and Their Elegance
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980. 1st Edition. Quarto, publisher's black, spine stamped in silver, brown endpapers, original photo-illustrated dust jacket.
First edition of lit world pugilist and MM superfan Norman Mailer’s fictitious memoir of the pop culture icon, a companion to his Marilyn: A Biography (1973). Created in collaboration with photographer Milton Greene, a close friend of Monroe who established her film production company, this imaginary autobiography draws from recorded interviews, fictionalized events, and personal reminiscences from her friends and loved ones. Written from the first person perspective of Monroe, the text speculatively accounts for her thoughts and feelings on her marriages to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, as well as her relationship with Greene, whose photographs of Monroe and others such as as Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, and Jane Fonda illustrate this volume. Anticipating backlash for "graverobbing" Monroe’s legacy, Mailer published a fictional courtroom transcript, "Before the Literary Bar: In which the author puts his new Marilyn Monroe book on trial—before critics do," in a 1980 issue of New York magazine (which ultimately didn't save the book from negative reception). Illustrated with color and black-and-white plates. Embossed library stamp of New York Times Book Review editor Mel Watkins. Fine in unclipped dust jacket. Item #12893
$85.00