Hundreds of handwritten pages of Jeanette’s own love letters to Irving Stone, the man she dated during her late Broadway years. Irving saved the letters, which were found after his death. Jeanette candidly discusses Broadway and Hollywood gossip, sex, and marriage to someone she’s not certain she loves. In 1927 she worries about pregnancy and setting up trysts behind her mother’s back; the following year she carefully juggles simultaneous affairs with two men…eerily foreshadowing her life in Hollywood a decade later. She discusses various health problems including her earliest documented heart attack in 1929 at age 26. Her letters are transcribed uncensored in their entirety, with many original reproductions. Her writing gives insight into the fiercely determined young singer who went on to become a 1930s Hollywood icon. Even after the affair ended, Jeanette kept writing. She discussed her Hollywood career with him, including co-stars such as Nelson Eddy. Her last correspondence to Irving is dated 1938.
Review
“Loved it! A great collection of hand-written letters by MGM’s musical songbird, before she was a star. Lively, entertaining, and she sure wasn’t a boring prude like some others have made her out to be. Ms. Rich wisely keeps the annotations to a minimum, since Naughty Marietta tells it like it was in her own words. I particularly enjoyed MacDonald’s Broadway and Hollywood gossip from the good old days! Lots of good dish.”
“Interesting and wonderful! Rarely do we get such an insight into someone’s true nature . This is a collection of very personal letters by a big movie star to her friend of many years. How she sounded, processed her life, various events, etc. is crystal clear. An intriguing glimpse at a well known figure from a lost era. Her letters reveal the great gap between the work of publicists and the real person. Very provocative reading in that regard.”
“Definitely the real Jeanette ! I am a huge fan of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, and I’m sure Jeanette MacDonald would not have wanted this book published, since it shows her in several love affairs with married and unmarried men. This book is great in that she is just writing with no pretenses to her lover/ex-lover/then friend her Big Irving. Jeanette’s life was fascinating and yet tragic and lonely at the end without a certain baritone. I highly recommend this book, it is always wonderful to read the truth for a change. Let Jeanette and Nelson’s beautiful voices live on through their wonderfully nostalgic movies & cds!! There will never be anyone like them again!”