Pinup Book Club members voted for August’s Marilyn Monroe book, and the winner is:
Pet Turtles, by Julien Bronson, published in 1954! This is the same version of the book she owned. It’s 25 pages long and filled with wonderful illustrations.
You may be wondering if Marilyn Monroe ever had a pet turtle. There is no known evidence of this, so the answer is probably no—but if something new crosses my path I’ll be sure to post about it here!
Marilyn Monroe did have other books about animals (one about bees, and one about the history of animals and human civilization). The main author of the book, Julien Bronson, wrote other pet guides with the same publisher (and his works are even cited in government documents). The book was cowritten by a herpetologist from the University of Illinois by the name of Hobart Smith. The illustrations in the book are by Eileen M. Hill, who appears to have illustrated other books in the early to mid 20th-century.
Book club members will have access to more information about this book, and will have the chance to vote for next month’s book from Marilyn Monroe’s collection. See the membership page for more details.
The Vintage Book Club 