Inside Marilyn's Library
When Marilyn Monroe’s personal effects were auctioned by Christie’s in 1999, the world was stunned to find a library containing over 430 books. Far from light reading, her collection was heavy with psychology, classic literature, art history, and politics.
"I see her with a book... she loved to read. She loved to learn." — Frieda Hull
Collection Composition by Subject
A breakdown of the primary genres found in her catalogue.
Literary Heavyweights
She didn't just buy books for show; she annotated them. Her collection featured multiple works by some of the most complex minds in literary history.
Arthur Miller
Her third husband and celebrated playwright. Their relationship was a meeting of pop culture and high intellect.
Sigmund Freud
Deeply interested in psychoanalysis, she owned nearly every major work by Freud, reflecting her desire for self-understanding.
Author Count in Collection
Count of VolumesA Life in Letters
Enrolls at UCLA
Marilyn takes night classes in Art Appreciation and Literature, seeking the formal education she missed as a child.
The Waldorf-Astoria
Photographer Eve Arnold captures the iconic image of Marilyn reading James Joyce's Ulysses at a playground in Long Island.
Marriage to Arthur Miller
She marries the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. She converts to Judaism and immerses herself in his intellectual circle.
The Misfits
Stars in a screenplay written specifically for her by Miller. It becomes her final completed film.
Depth & Density
Critics often dismissed her reading as performative, but the books she owned tell a different story.
This chart visualizes selected works from her library based on Page Count versus estimated Literary Complexity. She gravitated towards dense, challenging Modernist texts.
Key Insight
Marilyn struggled with the final chapter of Ulysses, reading it aloud to understand the rhythm, proving her engagement was active and persistent.
Her Own Words
"I think I have a little bit of the intellectual in me. I’m not just a body."
"Help help
Help I feel life coming closer
When all I want
Is to die."
"Arthur Miller... taught me that the mind is a muscle. You have to exercise it, or it gets flabby."