Marilyn’s literary influence extends way beyond the English language, as shown by these recent book releases.
First up, Belgian author Aurore Van Opstal’s 2021 novel, The Men Who Killed Marilyn, gets a Dutch translation – and a lovely cover shot from Ben Ross. While claiming to bring a feminist perspective to Marilyn’s life in the MeToo era, the rather sensationalist title seemingly nods to British conspiracy author Matthew Smith’s The Men Who Murdered Marilyn (1996.)
Next, La Bellissime (‘The Beautiful Ones’) is a reissue of a 1959 series of imagined encounters with Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren and MM, penned by famed Italian author Giuseppe Marotta. The cover artwork is inspired by Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous photo of Marilyn, captured in early 1953 like the Ross session.
And finally, Her Name Was Marilyn – a collection of short stories and poems by Cairo-born Quebecoise writer Nora Atalla, with cover art based on Milton Greene’s Ballerina Sitting from 1954 – will be published on August 13th.
The Marilyn Report 