When We Were Brilliant Book Review
If you’ve been following me for more than five minutes, you know I love all things Classic Hollywood. So when I heard about Lynn Cullen's latest historical fiction book, When We Were Brilliant, I was instantly sold. When We Were Brilliant delivers exactly what I crave in historical fiction: rich character work and a deeply human look at stories we think we know. If you love character-driven historical fiction and iconic twentieth-century figures brought to life on the page, this book should be on your TBR list.
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Quick Look
- feminist fiction
- friendship story
- perfect for book clubs
- insider look at Classic Hollywood moments
- great on audio
Published January 20, 2026
Gifted by Berkley Pub & PRH Audio
Publisher's Synopsis
In 1952, Norma Jeane Baker follows documentary photographer Eve Arnold into a powder room on the night they first meet. She has a proposition for her. Norma Jeane created Marilyn Monroe to be photographed, and she wants Eve to do it. Eve is better than anyone she’s seen at revealing a person’s inner truth. Together they can help each other. Together, she says, they can make something brilliant.
Skeptical of this cipher of a young woman, Eve demurs. She’s looking for more serious subjects than this ambitious starlet. But she keeps getting drawn back into Marilyn’s orbit, and the women come to recognize something in each other—something fundamental. Nothing will get in the way of what they want, and when Marilyn’s star takes off to teetering heights, neither will ever be the same.
A lavish and transporting novel, When We Were Brilliant captures the halcyon days of an icon and the grit of women determining their own futures as it explores the exceptional and complicated friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold.
My Review
Y’all know I love Classic Hollywood, so the second I read the synopsis for When We Were Brilliant, I was in. A book filled with Hollywood glamour and a complicated icon at the center of it all? Say less. And luckily, Cullen's latest did not disappoint!
Told through the perspective of trailblazing photographer Eve Arnold, this story really shines in its character work. Cullen leans into Eve’s inner world in a way that feels thoughtful and grounded. At each professional turn, you can feel her ambition humming under the surface along with the doubt creeping just outside the frame. Cullen invites the reader to experience what it meant to be a woman forging a path in uncharted territory.
What begins as a chance photo session with a rising Marilyn becomes career-defining for Eve. Their connection is unexpected and layered, growing from professional opportunity into something that feels like genuine friendship. Cullen essentially proposes that neither would have had the career success she experienced without the contributions of the other. They were tethered together by mutual trust and understanding, all the while making great art along the way.
At its core, the book centers on Eve’s career and the constant push and pull between ambition and family, all while carving out legitimacy in a male-dominated industry. Marilyn’s fame and Eve’s success are so closely intertwined, and experiencing it all through Eve’s reflections adds depth and poignancy. It’s not just about celebrity and the cost of being truly seen.
If you’re a Marilyn fan, you’ll appreciate this portrayal of the troubled actress a woman whose intelligence and razor-sharp wit were often overshadowed by her image. The behind-the-scenes glimpses of iconic moments feel intimate and cinematic, like stepping just beyond the velvet rope.
And the audiobook? It's beautifully narrated by Rachel Jacobs, who captures both women with strength and nuance. Her performance adds texture and emotion, elevating an already compelling story into something that lingers long after the final chapter.
My Rating
At the end of the day, When We Were Brilliant isn’t just another story about Marilyn or even about Old Hollywood. It’s about creative partnership, about women working together to build legacies in spaces that constantly underestimate them. Cullen explores the tension between public success and private sacrifice in a powerful way. If you love character-driven historical fiction that lets you peek behind the curtain of fame and ambition, this one is absolutely worth your time. It will be on my list of 2026 favorites for sure!
P.S.
Enjoy Ms Monroe’s performance on River of No Return, my favorite of her film appearances. She performed all vocals and guitar work on this song and others. Go watch!!!
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