THE PURPLE DIARIES Paints Portrait of Mary Astor and the Golden Age of Cinema

Celebrity gossip has always been Hollywood's specialty, but in 1936 a SCANDAL broke that was so sensational it pushed Hitler's Olympics off the front pages: the diaries of Mary Astor.

Mary Astor was an A-list, award-winning actress in her day, but also an unhappily married woman. When Astor and her husband, Franklyn Thorpe, divorced, they launched into an extremely rancorous custody battle over their small daughter, Marylyn. Franklyn threatened Mary with her own history: he had her personal diaries, which contained details about her dalliances as well as the affairs of her celebrity friends, and promised to expose her as an unfit mother. At a time when living out of wedlock was a mortal sin and the studio bosses had perfected THE ART OF controlling public perception around their performers, the release of the uncensored diaries could bring down an industry.

With the complete support of the Astor family and a treasure trove of Mary Astor photos THE PURPLE DIARIES (Diversion Trade Paperback Original; $16.99; November 22nd, 2016; ISBN: 978-1682302996) paints an enthralling portrait of the tabloid frenzy of the Golden Age of film. But even more fascinating are the intimate, behind-the-scenes moments that uncover a woman haunted by her need for love while driven to control her own life and keep her daughter--at any cost.

Cinema and celebrity buffs, especially fans of Tinseltown by William J. Mann and Scandals of Classic Hollywood by Anne Helen Petersen, will revel in Joseph Egan's account of Mary Astor's life, which includes over eighty rare and hard-to-find photographs.

Read an excerpt from The Purple Diaries here!

Author Joseph Egan has worked in motion picture promotion, been a freelance video editor, has had several film scripts optioned, and been a judge at the Athens Independent Film Festival. You can visit him online at thepurplediaries.com.