Book Review: The Purple Diaries: Mary Astor and the Most Sensational Hollywood Scandal of the 1930s by Joseph Egan (2016)

Synopsis: After being raised by parents who stole from her and becoming a widow at 24, Hollywood star Mary Astor was involved in relationships with multiple men, including playwright George S. Kaufman, while she was married to Dr. Franklyn Thorpe and wrote about her affairs in her diary. In 1936, after agreeing to give Thorpe both a divorce and custody of their daughter, Marylyn because he possessed her diary and threatened to use it to derail her career, Astor took her ex-husband to court to contest the custody arrangement, putting Hollywood on high alert as the case threatened to expose the details of her private journal, including the famous stars she slept with.

This non-fiction book gives a play-by-play detail of the trial, the events leading up to it and the aftermath.

Review: As a classic movie fan, I am familiar with Mary Astor's work and knew enough about her history to be familiar with her infamous "Purple Diaries," named after the color ink she used to write in them. So, when I came across The Purple Diaries at my library, I figured I'd give it a try.

Overall, I would describe this as a book that was intriguing enough for me to have a hard time putting it down but at the same time, was also one of the most depressing non-fiction books I've ever read.

I thought Egan did a good job telling the story from both Astor's point of view and her ex-husband's. The first few chapters provide a solid background, including Astor's relationships that, today, probably would be described as problematic or toxic. This included her father, who took all her earnings early in her career and her first romantic relationship, with actor John Barrymore, when he was in his 40s and she was just a teenager. It was a mix of how those relationships shaped her worldview while also leaving a "what if" regarding her lone healthy relationship that ended in tragedy.

At the same time, while I would still describe the book as slanted in Astor's favor, I didn't think it necessarily vilified Thorpe either. If anything, it was clear the marriage's failures was both their fault and the custody battle that ensued was between two parents who seemed to genuinely care for their child's wellbeing, albeit in vastly different ways and with more than a little anger toward each other.

The book's coverage of the trial was the part I found most interesting. A lot of other books would simply give a summary and the outcome. This book gave all the details from start to finish, explaining each side's strategy, their successes and mistakes and the possible nuclear option of releasing Astor's diaries, which would both help and hurt both sides while possibly ruining the careers of other people in the process, especially since the press was so anxious to print the sordid details, fake diary entries were already in circulation.

The reason I also described this book as depressing was despite each parent claiming they were trying to protect their daughter, the only one who made the effort to do so during the trial was the judge, Goodwin J. Knight (future governor of California). In fact, the more I read about the trial, the more I wished the book was told more from his perspective because while Astor might have been a mother fighting for her child, I'd argue Knight was the real, unsung hero.

Final Opinion: Mary Astor's Purple Diaries might have been an infamous part of Hollywood history, but this book did a good job showing the real scandal is how ugly custody battles can become. I couldn't put it down and consider it a must read.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other books about Hollywood scandals:

Book Review: Room 1219 by Greg Merritt (2013)

Book Review: A Murder in Hollywood by Casey Sherman (2024)