Was ‘30s star Marion Davies a Hollywood mistress plagued by scandal? Author hopes to let ‘her story be known’
Annie Barrows is hoping that the publicity surrounding a new book, A Life of Marion Davies, will bring light to the case of her starlet sister, actress and singer of the 1930s, who had a string of affairs with men throughout her professional life and for years after.
She said: “The book is a fascinating story of a beautiful woman plagued by scandal in her life and career, who had many lovers in the movie and music industry, and who was married and has three children.”
It is a case where the facts have been left alone, and what we know is what the public wants to know. But Annie believes that, at least in this case, the truth is more important than what we choose to believe.
She said: “What we know about the case is what we choose to believe, and I find that the public wants the truth. And I believe that is a matter of great importance.
“The public must be made aware of what happened to this beautiful, brilliant woman and I hope that this book will help them to understand that this was a very unhappy and complex time in her life.’
The book, published by Bantam Press, brings together the interviews and memories of Annie Barrows in the last 40 years with the stories and photographs of others, and examines the life of a person dubbed “the most beautiful woman in Hollywood”. She said: “We are hoping to make her life more famous, and I think the public are delighted to know Marion Davies, who is not known as the woman seen everywhere in her life, is also an interesting, complicated, fascinating and compelling woman.
“I hope the book is a sign of progress on the subject, and that a greater public interest in it will develop.”
Annie Barrows, who has written several books, including I Wish I’d Known: The Story of Marion Davies, said she thought it would be easy to write the book, but she had to be determined to make it her most important undertaking.
She added: “I realised early on that something in my life, in my own family life, had been neglected, neglected