Publication Date: January 20, 2026
They were an unlikely pair—a blond bombshell and a photographer determined to be taken seriously—but Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold would make a deal that would change their lives in this dazzling new novel from the national bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and The Woman with the Cure.
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.
The mystique of Norma Jeane comes to life through the lens of photographer Eve Arnold in a story designed to showcase their friendship.
Author Lynn Cullen weaves historical fact with fiction in When We Were Brilliant. Alone, each of the main characters would provide ample inspiration as pioneering women, but together they create a powerhouse duo.
From Eve’s determination to succeed in the male-dominated world of photography to Norma Jeane’s transformation into the bubbly, overtly sexual Marilyn Monroe, a friendship was born connecting artist with subject.
Told from Eve’s first-person perspective, the story delves into Marilyn’s vulnerabilities and spotlights the woman underneath the glamour. Eve’s ability to capture the inner secrets of her subjects makes her the perfect fit as Marilyn’s preferred photographer.
When We Were Brilliant captures the essence of a woman gone too soon and the photographer who tapped into her inner beauty.
Lynn Cullen’s bestselling novels, including The Woman with the Cure, The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Mrs. Poe, Twain’s End, The Creation of Eve, and Reign of Madness, have been translated into seventeen languages and are the recipients of various honors, including NPR Great Read, Oprah.com Book of the Week, People magazine Book of the Week, Indie Next List selection, and Atlanta magazine Best Books of the Year. She lives in Atlanta.
