The Secret Letters of Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy Read Free Page B

F. Kennedy to Marilyn, that Paula and Lee had placed ‘into a safe-deposit box, not to be opened for fifty years.’”
    The fact that Jack Kennedy risked putting pen to paper to correspond with Marilyn indicates that her response was also worth receiving and that intellectually she was not dramatically inferior to Jack or, indeed, to Jackie.
    For as much as Hillary Clinton might hate admitting this about Monica Lewinisky, Eleanor Roosevelt about Missy Le Hand, Queen Alexandra about Lillie Langtry, Lady Nelson about Emma Hamilton, or Jackie about Marilyn, the reality is that despite their intrinsic animosity toward each other, on a deep level, the wife and the mistress generally have far more in common than they might care to admit and could, had fate dealt them different cards, even have been true friends.
    The historical value of the letters has been enhanced by the access to Jackie’s hitherto unpublished Purple Diary, which was bequeathed by her to her niece Evangeline Auchincloss.
    I believe that I owe it to history to make Jackie Kennedy’s relevant Purple Diary entries available in tandem with the Secret Letters. For it is my belief that Jackie’s diary entries on Marilyn elucidate her state of mind during the correspondence, add dignity and resonance to the Secret Letters, and are thus a fitting memorial to her.
    Above all, I would never have lent my name and reputation to thisenterprise had I not believed that the documents truthfully reflect Marilyn’s and Jackie’s mutuality of spirit, their deep intimacy, their similarity of soul, and their unrequited passion for a remarkable man. All of which I believe serves only to add to the final legacy, the historical importance, and the rich beauty of these Secret Letters.

WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
     
    Bel-Air Hotel
     
    The Office of Senator John F. Kennedy
    Washington, D.C.
    November 5, 1952
     
    Dearest Jack,
    Congratulations on winning the Senate Race. Since we met last year in Hollywood, I’ve been rooting for you, so I’m glad. *
    Love,
    Marilyn
    __________________________
     
    * “For nearly a decade, his [Kennedy’s] regular host on trips to Hollywood had been the prominent agent Charles Feldman. Feldman had represented Marilyn in the early fifties, and two witnesses suggest that Kennedy met Marilyn through him as early as 1951.” (Tony Summers, Goddess)
    Marilyn kept a copy of this (rather indiscreet) greeting with all the subsequent correspondence.

M ARILYN M ONROE
     
    Apartment 3
    882 North Doheny Drive
    Beverly Hills, California
    Senator and Mrs. John F. Kennedy
    1095 North Ocean Boulevard
    Palm Beach, Florida
    September 13, 1953
     
    Dear Senator and Mrs. Kennedy,
    I am so sad that I couldn’t accept Ambassador Kennedy’s kind invitation to attend your wedding * I was in Canada, making River of No Return . † But when I saw your beautiful wedding photographs in the newspaper this morning, they brought tears to my eyes.
    Mrs. Kennedy, you look just like a movie star, only better, which of course you are.
    I wish you joy, happiness, and all that you desire and hope that this little music box will remind you that here in Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe is thinking of you both with love. ‡
    Marilyn
    __________________________
     
    * On receipt of this letter, Jackie wrote in her diary, “Quel surprise! A wedding gift from none other than Marilyn Monroe … plus a cryptic note. Still, old Joe must know what he’s doing. … Or wants to do … As if the Swanson scenario hadn’t been sufficient. … Oh, well, les garçons always remain les garçons, don’t they? …”
    In the above diary entry, Jackie is assuming that because Joe Kennedy invited Marilyn to Jack’s wedding, she and Joe were having an illicit affair. It is highly likely that Jack inveigled his father into inviting Marilyn to his wedding. As Sarah Bradford noted in America’s Queen (New York: Viking, 2000): “There was competition between Jack and his father over women: each got a