The Secret History of Wonder Woman

I have been a longtime fan of Wonder Woman comics. As a youngster my favorite action comics included Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. When I saw this 436 page soft cover book (The Secret History of wonder Woman by Jill Lepore-with a new afterword) on Amazon for a bargain price I immediately purchased it along with another Wonder Woman book. Before reading this book I had no idea of the history behind the creation of the most popular female superhero of all time. I also had no idea that the author of Super Woman also created the first Lie Detector. I found this book to be a fascinating read and obviously well-researched by the author. The relationship between the early growth of women’s rights and the development of Wonder Woman is not well known. This excellent book is organized into three parts. Part one (Veritas) is about the early years of William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman. Part two (Family Circle) covers the relationship of the author with the two women (ménage Otway) in his life. Part three (Paradise Island) is about the development of Wonder Woman. There is also an interesting epilogue section and an afterword, as well as a comic’s index. If you are a fan of Wonder Woman this is a must read book. Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Never Trust a Politician: A critical review of politics and politicians).

This is how Wonder Woman came to be. It is more about the man, William Marston, and the women in his life, Elizabeth Holloway and Olivia Byrne (niece of Margaret Sanger). While we learn the history of these people, we also learn of the suffragette and feminist movement of the early 20th Century. Marston, Holloway, and Byrne were modern and not inhibited by cultural norms. Though he married Halloway, Byrne lived with them as his mistress and possibly more. While Holloway worked outside the home, Byrne took care of the children. They kept their relationship secret even from their children. Upon their deaths, not much changed in knowledge within their family except the grandchildren pulled papers out of the trash which told a lot of the family and their work. I enjoyed this book. I never knew much of this history. Marston had a big ego and craved attention as he wrote articles and the Wonder Woman comic. The women were quieter but their contributions to his work were noted. I liked how the suffragette movement of the early 1900's was shown. I did not realize how feminism changed through the decades, how it died down then WWII happened making it come back into focus as women move into the work force, then how it was forced back after the war until the 1970's. I suspect Margaret Sanger and her sister Ethel Byrne are rolling over in their graves with the political situation that is occurring today, how much of their work is being undone. This is timely. It is an interesting history. Seeing how Wonder Woman changed through the decades is also interesting and knowing movies with her have been popular lately. I think Marston would have hated how his comic was changed after his death, but he would have been happy that she is still popular today. This is worth reading.

Aside from learning about the complex origins of Wonder Woman, I learned a lot more about the history of woman's suffrage and I have even a deeper admiration for Margaret Sanger who was the inspiration for Wonder Woman. The mini bio on Sanger was quite impressive and after learning of the amazing number of births that her mother had that possible contributed to her early death, you can understand her motivation to free women from a life of continuous child birth and to have rights within their marriage and as an independent individual with options for career. The creator of Wonder Woman, William Marston, was a story in his self between inventing the lie detector test and an inability to maintain sustained employment in spite of many excellent academic assignments. In addition, his unique ability to embrace the woman's suffrage movement while living with two women, his wife Elizabeth and Olive Byrne, and raising 4 children with both is quite fascinating. Both women were able to sustain careers, particularly after Olive was able to ease up on her primary child rearing. The progression of the comic is frustrating as Lepore explains the challenges of censors, vindictive psychiatrists and after Marston's early death, the assignment of a writer who has virtual no admiration for the original persona of Wonder Woman. Lepore provides so much about the unusual lives of the Marston family, advanced in some ways, two women involved with child rearing allowing one to have a career while explaining the motivations and symbolism of the comic. A book that was both fascinating and educating on the woman's movement complete with an update on Wonder Woman's place in the feminist movement of the 60s and 70s.

Purchased returning home from hospital after reading a fascination article . Wonder Woman film already screened. When depressed I chose Dan Brown. This blew my mind with the level of revelatory erudite research. Written thereforebwith exhilarating wit disbelief and passion. Traced the film about these extraordinary creators of intellectual calibre. Hilarious so human Laughed endlessly.I understand why Wonder Woman did not appeal to me.IShe was as transformed transporter diluted backward from the 1940s by young conformist. Read this op n your eyes then watch the two films💖

El producto vino sin ningún problema. Perfectamente embalado. El libro viene en tapa dura con idioma en inglés. Trata sobre la vida del creador de Wonder Woman y las diferentes etapas de su vida hasta crear a su personaje. Recomiendo su compra a los fans de Wonder Woman. Buen libro.

An empowering story for all women worldwide. Marston (Wonder Woman's creator) was an amazing character, who lived an unconventional life and defied all rules. This book gives a one-of-a-kind insight on what it was like to be a woman in the early '900s, what with the suffragette movement and all and - sadly - reveals how some things haven't changed to this day. Kudos to Bill Marston, inventor of the lie detector test and of Wonder Woman. Kudos to the women in his life who provided amazing inspiration and contributed to evolve the feminist movement worldwide.

Joli livre, non seulement sur l'histoire des comics et de Wonder Woman mais aussi sur son extraordinaire créateur William Moulton Marston, amateur de bondage, de femmes dominatrices, pratiquant de l'amour libre et inventeur du détecteur de mensonge! Bien écrit, très documenté et pleins d'intéressantes illustrations. Petite critique : le format est un peu petit...

Lots of threads to unwind here if you are looking for a book with something for everyone. The rise of feminism, polyamory, comic books, subversive messaging in comics. Take your pick of what might interest you. A bit ambitious at times, and sometimes a bit too detailed with people maybe not core to the story. Hard to keep the names straight. But in brief, our book club thought it was a winner.