When We Were Brilliant - by Lynn Cullen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"AN HOMAGE TO FEMALE FRIENDSHIP AND AMBITION." --LA TIMES

They were an unlikely pair--a blond bombshell and a photographer determined to be taken seriously--but Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold would make a deal that would change their lives in this dazzling new novel from the national bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and The Woman with the Cure.

In 1952, Norma Jeane Baker follows documentary photographer Eve Arnold into a powder room on the night they first meet. She has a proposition for her. Norma Jeane created Marilyn Monroe to be photographed, and she wants Eve to do it. Eve is better than anyone she's seen at revealing a person's inner truth. Together they can help each other. Together, she says, they can make something brilliant.

Skeptical of this cipher of a young woman, Eve demurs. She's looking for more serious subjects than this ambitious starlet. But she keeps getting drawn back into Marilyn's orbit, and the women come to recognize something in each other--something fundamental. Nothing will get in the way of what they want, and when Marilyn's star takes off to teetering heights, neither will ever be the same.

A lavish and transporting novel, When We Were Brilliant captures the halcyon days of an icon and the grit of women determining their own futures as it explores the exceptional and complicated friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold.

Review Quotes

"What was Norma Jeane Baker really like, away from the blinding spotlight and out of the hair and makeup that made her Marilyn? That's the question that has haunted our collective imagination for decades, and lucky for us readers, that is precisely the topic that Lynn Cullen takes up in her latest novel, When We Were Brilliant. This is a nuanced character study that immerses readers directly into the honest, complicated, and intimate relationship between Marilyn Monroe and her most trusted photographer and collaborator, the fierce and indomitable Eve Arnold. With a string of luminous cameos including Joan Crawford, Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly, this is a whirlwind tour through both the light and the dark of Hollywood's golden era--and the leading lady who continues to fascinate us to this day."--Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of It Girl

"Bringing to life the surprising friendship between Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe and renowned photographer Eve Arnold, When We Were Brilliant is exhilarating, heartrending, and filled with verve and glamor. Author Lynn Cullen goes behind the legend to portray the real Marilyn Monroe, a complex woman from a hardscrabble background who was vulnerable and insecure but also tenacious, focused, and much more talented an actress than she was given credit for. Cullen powerfully captures the almost-impossible lives of professional women in the 1950s and '60s, emotionally torn by the conflicting demands of family and work. When We Were Brilliant kept me up reading late into the night--because Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold are portrayed so vividly, so compellingly, that they seemed to become my friends, as well as each other's."--Lauren Belfer, New York Times bestselling author of City of Light and Ashton Hall

"In When We Were Brilliant, Lynn Cullen turns her formidable talents to illuminating the little-known collaboration between Marilyn Monroe and photographer Eve Arnold. Impeccable research and detail combine with unforgettable characters and eloquent prose to make this unique tale of female friendship and empowerment one for the ages."--Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of Last Twilight in Paris

"Lynn Cullen has done the seemingly impossible: taken one of the most overexposed women in modern history and shown us someone we haven't seen before. Photographer Eve Arnold, through Cullen's eyes, has the literal lens through which an unvarnished, sympathetic, realistic Marilyn Monroe comes into focus. Better still, Cullen gives us an equally intriguing figure in the lesser-known Arnold. This is a captivating, illuminating depiction of two fascinating women at an important moment in time."--Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of It All Comes Down to This

"Too many depictions of Marilyn Monroe focus on her sex appeal, her exploitation, or her doom. Lynn Cullen shines a spotlight on Marilyn the fighter, scrappy Norma Jeane who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it, and she makes America's most famous platinum-haired star lovable every step of the way. Our window on Marilyn is another remarkable woman: Eve Arnold, pioneering photographer in a male-dominated field, whose camera captures a side of Marilyn no one else sees. The friendship that unfolds between the two women through Marilyn's rise to superstardom is powerful and poignant. When We Were Brilliant is quite simply brilliant." --Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Briar Club

"I inhaled this book breathlessly, in one day, spellbound by the magical quality of Lynn's writing, the invitation to view iconic sex symbol Marilyn Monroe through--quite literally--a new lens, and the intimate portrayal of her fierce and devoted friendship with photographer Eve Arnold. An extraordinary feat of historical fiction and one of my favorite books this year."--Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of Jane and Dan at the End of the World

"This historical novel that dishes on both Hollywood and political drama is perfect for book clubs seeking fiction about larger-than-life figures and for students of photography."--Library Journal (starred review)

"A must-read for fans of Monroe who want an empathetic imagining of her life, and further reading and watching lists will surely develop as the novel mentions a cavalcade of films, plays, and books enjoyed and produced by the two women."--Booklist

About the Author

Lynn Cullen's bestselling novels, including The Woman with the Cure, The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Mrs. Poe, Twain's End, The Creation of Eve, and Reign of Madness, have been translated into seventeen languages and are the recipients of various honors, including NPR Great Read, Oprah.com Book of the Week, People magazine Book of the Week, Indie Next List selection, and Atlanta magazine Best Books of the Year. She lives in Atlanta.