One of Hollywood’s first scandals was nearly its last. 1936 looked like it would be a great year for the movie industry. With the economy picking up after the Great Depression; Americans everywhere were sitting in the dark watching the stars―and few stars shined as brightly as one of America’s most enduring screen favorites; Mary Astor. But Astor’s story wasn’t a happy one. She was born poor; and at the first sign that she could earn money; her parents grabbed the reins and the checks. Widowed at twenty-four; Mary Astor was looking for stability when she met and wed Dr. Franklyn Thorpe. But the marriage was rocky from the start; both were unfaithful; but they did not divorce until after Mary Astor gave birth to little Marylyn Thorpe. What followed was a custody battle that pushed The Spanish Civil War and Hitler’s 1936 Olympic Games off of the front pages all over America. Astor and Thorpe were both ruthless in their fight to gain custody of their daughter; but Thorpe held a trump card: the diaries that Mary Astor had been keeping for years. In these diaries; Astor detailed her own affairs as well as the myriad dalliances of some of Hollywood’s biggest names. The studio heads; longtime controllers of public perception; were desperate to keep such juicy details from leaking. With the complete support of the Astor family; including unlimited access to the photographs and memorabilia of Mary Astor’s estate; The Purples Diaries is a look at Hollywood’s Golden Age as it has never been seen before; as Egan spins a wildly absorbing yarn about a scandal that threatened to bring down the dream factory known as Hollywood.
#662211 in Books Abingdon Press 2015-10-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .60 x 5.50l; .60 #File Name: 1630881244240 pagesHidden Inheritance Family Secrets Memory and Faith
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. What is history ?By E. I. HOODShortly after starting this book; I found myself looking at a painting hanging in my home. It is of a church in Finland that I was told my Great-Grandfather John served as an altar boy before the 20th century. The idea popped into my head "what if there is more to THIS history than I know ?"This gave me a new empathy as I read this story. I understood her confusion and questioning all that she supposedly KNEW about her family.The author writes in a straightforward manner that I appreciated. There is a lot to digest in her story and I had to read small chunks and take time to think about it. I appreciate Rev Neumark's sharing her story to the world.What is happening in the world today brings to mind what happened in the 30's and how the world reacted then. I guess if we don't learn from the past we will be forced to re-live it again.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. as well as a social services provider to the poor; dispossessed and queerBy Rev. D. Thomas Ford; Jr.For God's sake; get this book now! It is extraordinary. Heidi Neumark is a Lutheran Pastor; writer and theologian; as well as a social services provider to the poor; dispossessed and queer. She discovers unexpectedly via her daughter's on-line research that she is Jewish and that her Neumark family was decimated in the Shoah. It causes her to reflect on her career as a Pastor and her relationship to the Sacraments of Baptism and The Eucharist. In a narrative that is breathtaking and seductive; one simply cannot put the book down. She raises profound issues for believers and non-believers and the relationship of Jews and Christians today as to where life's meaning is to be found. The book is the result of years of painstaking; meticulous and agonizing research and travel. It is not a long book; but it is all consuming in its passion and pathos.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. terrible and wonderful to readBy Timothy MasonThis is an astonishing work: a voyage of unexpected discovery; and a quest for identity. A Lutheran pastor in her 50s learns that her father was Jewish - and her grandfather murdered; along with many other of her German relatives; in Nazi concentration camps. She follows the trail back to stories of horror; and courage; of which she was totally unaware. Hidden Inheritance is a gripping page-turner; terrible and wonderful to read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
