ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Elizabeth and Marilyn by Julie Owen Moylan

Posted on 8th April 2026 By Nicola

Elizabeth and Marilyn by Julie Owen Moylan is published by Penguin Michael Joseph and is out now. My thanks to the publishers for the proof copy.

London, October, 1956. A glittering Royal Film Premiere. The whole world is watching . . .

Tonight, Elizabeth II will formally greet an array of stars. Though she was not born to be Queen, this young mother and wife has embraced her patriotic duty and its unforgiving demands.

A limousine pulls up. Out steps a vision in dazzling gold: Marilyn Monroe. A money-making machine for Hollywood, with curves that drive men wild and a smile that lets women know she’s in on the joke.

As the two most famous women in the world come face to face, they look to be worlds apart. Yet beneath the glamorous costumes, both are fighting to keep the men they love, while trying to do their work in a man’s world. And they have spent the summer of 1956 battling secret demons the public could never imagine.

Now, Marilyn steps forward. These photographs will be on the front page of every newspaper in the morning.

But this isn’t their first meeting. And the story behind the headlines is even more sensational . . .

Perfect for fans of American Wife, The Christie Affair and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, this stunning novel imagines the secret lives of two of the 20th century’s most famous women – set during a momentous summer that brought them face to face, and publishing 100 years after their births.

Elizabeth and Marilyn – two of the most recognisable women in the world. The year is 1956, the year in which both women turned 30 years old, and they’re about to meet at a film premiere at which Marilyn was invited to meet the Queen. Julie Owen Moylan imagines the months before that meeting for each woman. Marilyn has come to England to film The Prince and the Showgirl with Sir Laurence Olivier. Newly married to Arthur Miller, she believes herself to finally be happy in love but she finds it increasingly difficult to cope with being treated as a dumb blonde. Elizabeth is also finding it hard to balance family life with her responsibilities as Queen.

I thought the author did an excellent job at getting deep into the inner thoughts of each woman. Telling their stories in the first person meant that the combination of the presentation of known facts mingled with fictional elements worked really well. Whilst I have plenty of prior knowledge about the Queen, I didn’t know much about Marilyn’s early life and this story showed that there was a marked contrast between the two. For much of the book there is no merging of the two characters’ individual stories and yet they exist alongside each other beautifully. By 1956, though, here were two dazzling public personas each hiding a young woman struggling with the weight of expectation, the parallels between them now quite clear to see.

I loved reading Elizabeth and Marilyn. I found it absolutely compelling and couldn’t wait to pick it up and read some more. It was a joy to read, a small slice of fascinating history that had me hooked from beginning to end.

Julie Owen Moylan is the author of three novels: That Green Eyed Girl, 73 Dove Street and Circus of Mirrors. Her debut novel That Green Eyed Girl was a Waterstones’ Welsh Book of the Month and the official runner up for the prestigious Paul Torday Memorial Prize. It was also shortlisted for Best Debut at the Fingerprint Awards and featured at the Hay Festival as one of its ‘Ten at Ten’. 73 Dove Street was a Waterstones’ Books of 2023 and a Daily Mail Historical Fiction Book of the Year. As a filmmaker Julie won the Celtic Media Award for her graduation film “BabyCakes” before going on to win Best Short Film at the Swansea Film Festival. Her writing and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications including Sunday Express, The Independent, New Welsh Review and Good Housekeeping. She has a Masters in Filmmaking and an additional qualification in Creative Writing & English Literature. Julie is an alumna of the Faber Academy.

Julie can be found on Instagram: @JulieOwenMoylan and her website: JulieOwenMoylan.com