The Purple Diaries

November 1, 2016
One of the biggest stories of the 1930s was a court battle between film star Mary Astor and her second husband, Dr. Franklyn Thorpe, over custody of their daughter, Marylyn, a few years after their divorce. Thorpe tried to use as evidence of her unfitness as a parent two diaries in which Astor had (unwisely) recorded her romantic exploits as well as those of others in the film industry, naming names. If these journals had been made public, careers would have been ruined and fortunes lost. Although the diaries were eventually locked up and not released until Marylyn was an adult (they were subsequently destroyed), scandalmongers invented passages and leaked them to the rapacious press. For nearly a month the story was front-page news and threatened to end Astor's career. A settlement was finally reached, however, and Astor's fans continued to support her. This candid account of the case, drawn from materials in Astor's estate and written with the support of her family, will fascinate fans of the golden age of films.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)