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Mary Astor's Purple Diary

The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936
By Edward Sorel
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In 1965, illustrator Edward Sorel uncovered a hidden stash of 1936 issues of the New York Daily News and Daily Mirror, revealing coverage of a scandalous Hollywood child custody trial involving actress Mary Astor and her secret journal detailing numerous affairs. Mary Astor's Purple Diary intertwines the dramatic saga of the Oscar-winning actress with Sorel's own journey, narrated and illustrated over five decades of fascination.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3399
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in Hollywood history, scandal, and illustrated memoirs, as well as fans of Edward Sorel's art and storytelling style.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

An hilarious send-up of sex, scandal and the Golden Age of Hollywood by a legendary cartoonist.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In 1965, a young, up-and-coming illustrator by the name of Edward Sorel tore away layer after layer of linoleum from the floor of his $97-a-month Manhattan apartment until he discovered a hidden treasure: issues of the New York Daily News and Daily Mirror from 1936, each ablaze with a scandalous child custody trial taking place in Hollywood starring the actress Mary Astor—and the journal in which she detailed her numerous affairs.

Thus began a half-century obsession that reached its peak in Mary Astor's Purple Diary, described as "a thoroughly charming" account (New York Times Book Review, front-page review) of the scandal. In this work, Sorel narrates and illustrates the travails of the Oscar-winning actress alongside his own personal story of discovering an unlikely muse.

Now in a stunning paperback, featuring more than sixty ribald and rapturous original illustrations, Mary Astor's Purple Diary is the life's masterpiece of one of America's greatest illustrators.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781631493386

Publisher: W W Norton & Co Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 November 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: Liveright Publishing Corporation

Illustration: 75 color illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 226.0mm

Weight: 405g

Pages: 176

Collections

Arts & Culture Biography & Memoir Edward Sorel Graphic Novels Musicians, Movie Stars & Creative Biographies Non-Fiction

About the Author

Edward Sorel is an illustrator, caricaturist, and cartoonist whose satires and pictorial essays have appeared in Vanity Fair, the Atlantic, the Nation, and The New Yorker, for which he has done forty-six covers. He lives in New York City.

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