September 04, 2024

Merchant of Venus Review

 


About the Book: 

Imagine losing a parent and discovering he had a secret life you'd never known about. You and your siblings embark on a quest to uncover what it all meant, becoming enmeshed in a series of images and anecdotes found in newspapers, magazines, books, and documents. Ultimately, you realize your parent was not just famous, but VERY famous! Walter Thornton was famous during a time when it was easy to be forgotten (1920s to the 1950s), making the discoveries about his life all the more engaging due to the involved process of uncovering them.

 Through alternating perspectives presented by two sisters, the Thornton saga unfolds in a whirlwind of surprising revelations, unexpected drama, adventure, and glamour. Just imagine beautiful models, pin-up girls, Hollywood royalty—Thornton was a true trendsetter. This book unveils the captivating story of Thornton's rise from an orphan to a charismatic male model, to a visionary who transformed advertising by founding the first-ever agency for advertising models. But hold onto your hats because there's more! Get ready for dramatic twists, encounters with models who transformed into Hollywood legends such as Lauren Bacall, Susan Hayward, and Grace Kelly, and a hint of McCarthy-era intrigue—it's a gripping tale worthy of the silver screen itself!

** Purchase a copy of The Merchant of Venus: The Life of Walter Thornton on AmazonBarnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add it to your GoodReads reading list.

Review:


 I'll admit, biographies, autobiographies and memoirs often sound interesting, or they're done by/based on an interesting individual but... they often don't pan out.

They can be boring, self-indulgent and short on any unique facts. Don't stop reading here because I said that. This book is different.

I was drawn to The Merchant of Venus, The Life of Walter Thornton by Nancy Thornton Navarro and  Adriana Thornton-Cornejo with Philip Mershon, as I love old Hollywood, like history, and this is a topic and subject I didn't know much about. I'm glad I agreed to read it.

This is definitely worth reading ,with tidbits about such people as the beautiful Susan Hayward and even the legendary Lauren Bacall and Grace Kelly's beginnings as Walter Thornton models... to a sprinkling of other lesser known stars.

An intriguing, fun fact is that Robert Thornton---the subject of the book and originator of the well known and well regarded modeling agency, which started the trend for managing and advertising models--- was a model himself. And pretty well known. Remember seeing all those vintage magazine ads with the dapper guy in the spiffy hat? Yup, that was him. Thornton's near-perfect classic features put him in the place of being the most requested and highest paid hat model in the industry.

What I found amazing was that after the daughters were grown, they were lucky enough to find their father's papers and photos still hidden away in the former family home.

There's also a unique family mystery his daughters try to solve along the way about why their father was in a Depression-era photo with a sign saying his car was for sale as he needed money. It turns out they found he never went broke and in fact seemed to weather the Depression well. 

If you like old Hollywood, history, and more, you'll enjoy this book. It's an interesting, compelling, and easy read. Hat's off! I give it 5 stars, or more appropriately, let's give it 5 hats. 🎩🎩🎩🎩🎩

About the authors: 

 

 Nancy Thornton Navarro is a former trademark and copyright attorney who has also served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Irving, Texas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Nancy currently lives near Dallas with her husband and is a proud mother of three.

 Adriana Thornton-Cornejo (R) is a Programmer, 2D Artist, and CAD Drafter at Focus 360, a company serving the Home Building Industry. Adriana hopes that, with renewed public interest in her father’s life and career, she can one day open a Walter Thornton Museum. She lives near Los Angeles with her husband and their two sons.

 Philip Mershon is an entertainment industry historian and storyteller who loves going down a good rabbit hole in search of the truth. He lives in Palm Springs, California.