Tatiana de Rosnay. “I wanted to imagine Marilyn Monroe’s letter to Yves Montant”

In Blonde powder, her new novel, which will be published on February 7 (1), Tatiana de Rosnay reminds Marilyn Monroe in an unexpected light. Because it is not the star on the center stage, but a young woman who holds office on the sidelines of her life, Pauline, who is responsible for cleaning the room at the Mapes Hotel, where the actress then lives, in the middle of filming. Axes – and amid marital turmoil, her affair with Yves Montand, which spelled the death knell for her union with Arthur Miller. One is addicted to medication, can’t sleep, can’t wake up, can barely play, and the other is under the influence of a man who gave her a baby, the vice-principal of a prestigious institution, before giving her away. work in the women’s room. Fortunately, the meeting with the famous actress will change the course of Pauline’s existence and lead to her emancipation, which is completely cinematographically orchestrated by Tatiana de Rosnay. Interview:

Madame Figaro. – What does Marilyn Monroe represent to you?

Tatiana de Rosnai. – I had four idols as a teenager. I satisfied my passion for Tamara de Lempicka by writing By Tamara Tatiana where I depict his existence in Montparnasse during the Roaring Twenties. Then there was Daphne du Maurier, who made me write when I was thirteen, reading Rebeccaand of which I published a biography with Albin Michel in 2015, Manderley. Then comes Emile Zola, who appears tomorrow we will be better and finally Marilyn Monroe. Everything is strange. I was just another teenager who adored him… In my case, it was the 1970s, I bought his perfume, Chanel n°5, which I still wear, and my room was covered with posters. his I saw the first movie with him Some like it hot. I was immediately drawn to the mix of fragility, seduction, charm and humor that was hers. I was a chubby young girl at the time, uncomfortable in her own skin, and this gorgeous woman who embraced her curves gave me so much hope…

You choose a specific point of view, the point of view of a stranger who was briefly his maid…

I didn’t want to write another book about Marilyn. My heroine is Pauline, and it is through her eyes that we witness the events. It was a real challenge, as Marilyn tends to keep the spotlight even sixty years after her death. I had to imagine Pauline’s life from A to Z, and give it flesh and depth. Like him, I discovered the United States at the age of seven, but two decades later. I arrived in Boston in 1967. My dad was sent there, he worked at MIT, and I was dazzled by the city, America, nature, and I wanted to give Pauline this wonder. it’s about Nevada and the great outdoors. I spent three years there, I was very happy there, and when I had to return to France, I felt it as a heartbreak. I kept traces of it in my accent, much to the dismay of my British mother, who has more of a Christine Scott Thomas desperation…

Why did you make Pauline French?

I wanted it to have a quality that would be of interest to Marilyn Monroe when she was coming out of her affair with Yves Montan. We know that he wrote to her, and I wanted to imagine a letter that he would have sent her in French with Polina’s help… It was also an opportunity, through the story of Polina’s mother, Marcel, A. A Parisian hairdresser who marries a GI joins him in Reno to discuss the matter fightersThe “war brides” who arrived on American ships, about whom I knew nothing before…

Was Nevada an inspiration?

Yes, but I was particularly interested in Hotel Mapes. It was demolished in 2000, just as I describe in the novel. collapsing into swirls of blond dust… As soon as I saw the video of its destruction, I knew. I had an actress, a hotel, a movie. The Unhinged – is captured through the eyes of a young woman who enters the star’s life very intimately as she makes his bed and puts away his belongings. Housekeepers know everything about our lives, especially in hotels. They see the clothes we wear, what medicines we take, what we read, what we drink, how we sleep, what’s in the trash… Following this direction seemed irresistible to me, to portray the fragile, lost, dear Marilyn. , and not the mermaid, who is all dressed in sequins. The Merlin I’m interested in is the one standing behind the door to Suite 614.

You mix three temporary threads. Can you enlighten us on this construction choice?

I didn’t want to settle for Pauline and Merlin going head-to-head, which would be too linear. I first wanted to tell what Pauline became in 2000 and to show how decisive this story was for her, how this meeting with Marilyn Monroe gave birth to her. The star opened his eyes to him, gave him confidence and made him understand his beauty and flexibility. Then I wanted to tell the story of the American West and the mustangs, which form one of the main threads of the book; I even rode back on that occasion. Pauline’s friend, Velma Johnson, who dedicated her life to these wild horses, also existed…

What interested you in this period of Marilyn’s life?

Perhaps it is less a matter of time than of place. I could have chosen the Beverly Hills Hotel where she had an affair with Montand. At that time, Marilyn shot three films. Some like it hot, The Billionaire. And The Unhinged. But a lot has already been said and written about California, Hollywood or his secret love affair with Yves Montan. Also, the Beverly Hills Hotel still exists. However, what I enjoyed was starting with photos and documents to reconstruct everything. So I chose the Wild West, the American legend of silver mines, ghost towns, and Reno, which really the location Before the advent of Las Vegas. Recreating this 1960s Nevada, the shoot Axes, was extraordinary. And then, to return to the Hotel Mapes, I liked the idea of ​​staging a micro-society; up/down – masters and servants – as well Center Abbey. A whole world of porters, elevators, cooks, sous-chefs, etc. housed in a twelve-story facility topped by this sky roomthis room in the sky where concerts and shows were given.

(1) Blond powder, Tatiana de Rosnay, ed. Albin Michel, 320 p., €21.90.