Elizabeth and Marilyn

What really happened when Queen Elizabeth II met Marilyn Monroe? This stunning historical novel imagines the summer that bonded the world's two most famous women, both thirty years old and chafing against the façade of global celebrity.

On a cool early-autumn evening in 1956, a glittering array of stars turns out in London for a Royal Film Premiere, where they will be presented to Queen Elizabeth II--an elegant young mother and wife, gracious and self-sacrificing, who has embraced her patriotic duty despite never expecting to take the throne so soon. Cameras flash, and a crowd surges forward as a limousine pulls up. Out steps a vision in dazzling gold: the greatest star of the era, Marilyn Monroe. She's a global sensation and money-making machine for Hollywood, with curves that drive men wild and a smile that lets women know she's in on the joke.

Finally, the two most famous women in the world will come face-to-face in public for the first time. And the world is watching--unaware that Elizabeth and Marilyn have already had an accidental encounter that has changed their lives.

Inspired by the months in the summer of 1956 when Elizabeth and Marilyn lived as neighbors in nearby Windsor, British author Julie Owen Moylan imagines a meeting the two might have had in their shared garden. Born within weeks of each other, Lilibet and Norma Jeane would seem to have only their age in common. Yet beneath the glamorous costumes and jewels, both women are fighting to hold on to the men they love while trying to do their work in a man's world, battling demons their adoring public could only guess at. Until now...

Author: Julie Owen Moylan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 8.01h x 5.44w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9798217093731


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/01/2026
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2026

About the Author
Julie Owen Moylan is the critically acclaimed author of three previous novels, That Green Eyed Girl, 73 Dove Street, and Circus of Mirrors. 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 degree in Creative Writing & English Literature.