The Divine Miss Marble: A Life of Tennis, Fame, and Mystery
Jul 2020 · Sold by Penguin
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“In Robert Weintraub’s exhaustive biography, The Divine Miss Marble, he transports the reader into Marble’s vibrant world. It’s a dreamy, indomitable life worth reading about as today’s tennis tries to return to form.”—The Washington Post
“An intriguing book about a fascinating woman…highly recommended.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Delightful and engrossing, this is a must for tennis fans.”—Publishers Weekly
The story of 1930s tennis icon Alice Marble, and her life of sports, celebrity, and incredible mystery.
Who was Alice Marble?
In her public life, she was the biggest tennis star of the pre-war era, a household name like Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis. She was famous for overcoming serious illness to win the biggest tournaments, including Wimbledon. She was also a fashion designer and trendsetter, a contributor to a pioneering new comic called Wonder Woman—and friend to the biggest names in Hollywood and society, like Carole Lombard and Clark Gable, William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies, and members of families named Bloomingdale, Loew, and du Pont. She helped integrate tennis with her support of Althea Gibson, and even coached two young women who became stars in their own right: Billie Jean King and Sally Ride.
Yet her private life provoked constant speculation while she was alive, and her own memoirs added layers of legend upon stories. According to Alice, she married a man who was killed in the skies over Europe during World War II. But who was the man she loved, and had he even existed? She was widely known for her patriotism during World War II. Had she really nearly given her life for her country as a spy, shot during a wild car chase fleeing foreign espionage agents?
In The Divine Miss Marble, bestselling author Robert Weintraub traveled the country to uncover her fascinating story. And the more he learned about her, the more her mysteries and contradictions deepened. Alice was a powerful woman who knew her worth, demanding equal pay to men decades earlier than other female athletes; yet she was held in sway by a domineering, highly successful coach with whom she had a volatile relationship. She was renowned for her California style, and had a brilliant mind and the guts to overcome a lifetime of physical trauma.
For the first time here, we come closer than ever before to the truths of this unforgettable life, and somehow it’s a story even more extraordinary than everything we already know about the divine Alice Marble.
“An intriguing book about a fascinating woman…highly recommended.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Delightful and engrossing, this is a must for tennis fans.”—Publishers Weekly
The story of 1930s tennis icon Alice Marble, and her life of sports, celebrity, and incredible mystery.
Who was Alice Marble?
In her public life, she was the biggest tennis star of the pre-war era, a household name like Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis. She was famous for overcoming serious illness to win the biggest tournaments, including Wimbledon. She was also a fashion designer and trendsetter, a contributor to a pioneering new comic called Wonder Woman—and friend to the biggest names in Hollywood and society, like Carole Lombard and Clark Gable, William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies, and members of families named Bloomingdale, Loew, and du Pont. She helped integrate tennis with her support of Althea Gibson, and even coached two young women who became stars in their own right: Billie Jean King and Sally Ride.
Yet her private life provoked constant speculation while she was alive, and her own memoirs added layers of legend upon stories. According to Alice, she married a man who was killed in the skies over Europe during World War II. But who was the man she loved, and had he even existed? She was widely known for her patriotism during World War II. Had she really nearly given her life for her country as a spy, shot during a wild car chase fleeing foreign espionage agents?
In The Divine Miss Marble, bestselling author Robert Weintraub traveled the country to uncover her fascinating story. And the more he learned about her, the more her mysteries and contradictions deepened. Alice was a powerful woman who knew her worth, demanding equal pay to men decades earlier than other female athletes; yet she was held in sway by a domineering, highly successful coach with whom she had a volatile relationship. She was renowned for her California style, and had a brilliant mind and the guts to overcome a lifetime of physical trauma.
For the first time here, we come closer than ever before to the truths of this unforgettable life, and somehow it’s a story even more extraordinary than everything we already know about the divine Alice Marble.
“In Robert Weintraub’s exhaustive biography, The Divine Miss Marble, he transports the reader into Marble’s vibrant world. It’s a dreamy, indomitable life worth reading about as today’s tennis tries to return to form.”—The Washington Post
“An intriguing book about a fascinating woman…highly reco...
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Ratings and reviews
1 review
Edward Graham
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December 25, 2020
Very Detailed Biography - Well Worth Reading! This biography is well researched and very well written. The author clearly states his sources. He also differentiates between fact, his opinion, and the opinions of others. He does not soft soap flaws in any of the persons in this book, nor does he make them out to be more than they are. This is a long book that is a slow read. I found myself putting this aside while I read something lighter, and then coming back to it. I am not a tennis player, did not know this woman before reading the book, but there is so much more to it. It is fascinating as the author brings us inside the heady days between the wars. The Hollywood scene with the glamorous stars rubbing elbows with Howard Hughes, William Randolph Hearst, the DuPont's and other industry titans. Playing tennis with Marion Davies, being friends with Carole Lombard, flirting with Errol Flynn. I enjoyed being a fly on the wall through it all. This biography is well worth reading. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
About the author
Robert Weintraub has written about sports for Slate, Play, ESPN.com, The Guardian, Deadspin, and many more. He is the author of four books, including The Divine Miss Marble and New York Times bestseller No Better Friend. Weintraub lives in Decatur, Georgia, but he grew up in the large shadow cast by Yankee Stadium, in Rye, New York.
Robert Weintraub has written about sports for Slate, Play, ESPN.com, The Guardian, Deadspin, and many more. He is the author of four books, including The Divine Miss Marble and New York Times bestseller No Better Friend. Weintraub lives in Decatur, Georgia, but he grew up in the large shadow cast...
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