Joseph Egan

1930’s Hollywood was a glamorous and fascinating place. When one of the top stars of the day, Mary Astor, decides to divorce her husband, the ensuing custody battle and threat to release her infamous diaries has the American public riveted. The diary, purported to list the names of Mary’s lover’s, threatened the lifestyle of the screen’s leading men. This was a fascinating book. It was well paced and contained enough back story to engage the imagination. Overall, well worth picking up.

The Purple Diaries is absolutely fantastic. From the moment I started it, I truly could not put it down. Admittedly, I am fascinated by this time period in Hollywood and have recently read a number of books about this era so the subject matter appeals to me very much. Before I read The Purple Diaries, I knew very little about Mary Astor and her long, varied life and careers. Joseph Egan conducted an incredible amount of research to write this book, and his attention to detail really adds a show more lot. There is so much drama that the story reads like a well-written soap opera that involves various famous actors, actresses and other Hollywood players from that era. Throughout the story, Egan includes a number of photos and newspaper articles which significantly contribute to the storyline. Without these additions, I would not have enjoyed the story quite as much – it truly makes the story come alive, and I loved pouring over the old photos.

The focus of The Purple Diaries is the custody dispute between Mary Astor and her second husband Franklin Thorpe over their young daughter Marylyn. The story is not a particularly happy one, but the independence and strength Mary Astor showed to pursue such an issue as a female in the 1930’s was nothing short of amazing. The fact that she was able to endure such controversy during that time period and continue with her career as an actress (she even goes on to win an Academy Award) is quite impressive. Egan interviewed and communicated with Marylyn Thorpe while writing the book and includes a chapter at the end that conveys Marylyn’s thoughts on her childhood and relationship with both her mother and her father. In addition to summarizing the rest of Mary Astor’s life, Egan also takes the time to quickly follow the timeline of several other of the major characters in the drama including Franklin Thorpe and his parents, George Kaufman, and Ruth Chatterton. I really appreciated knowing how their lives played out too.

I highly recommend The Purple Diaries; Joseph Egan spent a substantial amount of time and effort researching Mary Astor with a particular focus on the custody dispute, and it really paid off. Thanks to Diversion Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

Written in a fun, witty style and well researched. But jeez, all these people were such self absorbed messes it was hard to feel a lot of sympathy.

So JUICY. Loved every second of this audiobook. Readings of court transcripts involving Mary Astor while she’s method acting for Dodsworth are unbeatable.