Some Marilyn for Monday

Reading Andrew O'Hagan's Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and now the latest issue of Vanity Fair, with the lady herself on the cover, has got me thinking about the last couple of years of Marilyn's life. Vanity Fair has run the first extract from a new book, Fragments, in which never-seen-before diaries and notebooks of Marilyn's have been published. If ghosts were real Marilyn would most probably be mortified watching all us humans reading her innermost thoughts. It is sad to think she entrusted her most personal valuables to someone who would end up being mercenary with them (I wonder if Lee Strasberg made a fortune out of Marilyn's personal effects)?, although, come to think of it, I'm fueling the trade in feelings and thoughts by picking up the magazine with Marilyn's face on it (existential crisis ... help!).

Somethings Got to Give was the last movie Marilyn didn't make as she was fired from the set because of her continual absences, and shortly afterwards she passed away. At the time, though, she looked absolutely radiant and it is such a pity that the film was never completed. Check out this footage of a wardrobe and make-up test for the film; Marilyn looks beautiful and happy in it, and I adore that dress.

Marilyn was a big reader, so I thought I'd include some pictures of her enjoying one of her favourite pastimes too.