Marilyn Monroe's 400-Book Library List Is Published Ahead of Her 100th Birthday
Updated
Updated · Mentalfloss · May 30
Marilyn Monroe's 400-Book Library List Is Published Ahead of Her 100th Birthday
5 articles · Updated · Mentalfloss · May 30
A full inventory of more than 400 books from Marilyn Monroe’s personal library has been published, spotlighting a collection that ranged from Proust and Joyce to Freud, Whitman and Shakespeare.
The list reinforces Monroe’s long-documented reputation as a serious reader who took two 10-week UCLA literature classes in 1951 and often used books for self-improvement amid insecurity and anxiety.
Many volumes reportedly carried Monroe’s notes and wear from years of use as she moved through 49 homes in her 36-year life, countering claims that her literary interests were staged for publicity.
After Monroe died in 1962, the books were moved from Los Angeles to Manhattan storage, passed through Lee Strasberg’s estate, and were sold by Christie’s in 1999.
The publication lands in 2026, when Monroe would have turned 100, adding fresh detail to a legacy usually framed around fame rather than her literary ambitions.
On her 100th birthday, what does Marilyn Monroe's secret library reveal about the woman Hollywood misunderstood?
Beyond the 'dumb blonde' myth, what did Monroe's private notes in books by Joyce and Freud truly expose?