Blonde (novel)

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Blonde
First edition cover
Author	Joyce Carol Oates
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Historical novel
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	2000
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	738 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0060196073

Blonde is a bestselling 2000 historical novel by Joyce Carol Oates. It was a finalist for both the National Book Award^[1] and the Pulitzer Prize.

The novel chronicles the inner life of Marilyn Monroe. Although it follows the life of a real person, Oates insists that the novel is still fictional, and should not be looked at as a biography.

[edit] Names

Although many notable names are changed, Oates sometimes uses recognisable initials such as "C"- a male co-star of Some Like it Hot (presumably Tony Curtis) and more controversially, "R.F"- the commandeer of the Sharpshooter sent to eliminate Monroe. Many conspiracy theories have Robert Francis Kennedy, United States Attorney General and brother of President John F. Kennedy, involved in Monroe's silencing,^[2] following her alleged affairs with both brothers. Only a relationship with the President is explored in the novel.

In Blonde, Monroe's husbands Joe di Maggio and Arthur Miller are referred to as the Ex-athlete and the Playwright respectively, with their real names never mentioned. James Dougherty, Monroe's first husband, appears under the pseudonym Bucky Glazer.

[edit] Length and editing

At over 700 pages, Blonde is Oates' longest work of fiction. In an interview she said, "I intended it to be a novella, somewhere around 175 pages, and the last words would have been 'Marilyn Monroe.' But over time, I got so caught up in her world that I couldn't stop there. The final result was this book. The first draft was, originally, longer than the version that was finally published. Some sections were shortened while others had to be surgically removed from the book. Those sections will be published separately."^[3]