The Divine Miss Marble

May 1, 2020
The first full-length biography of a multitalented and mysterious athlete. Tennis champion. Fashion designer. Singer. Writer. Teacher. Motivational speaker. Celebrity. Alice Marble (1913-1990), writes Weintraub, was all of these and more. Yet for a woman of such prominence, her life remains shrouded in mystery. Born in a small California town to modest circumstances, she moved with her family to San Francisco as a child. It was there that her athleticism blossomed, first in baseball--as a teenager, she was the mascot for the San Francisco Seals--and then in tennis. Guided by her coach and mentor Eleanor Tennant, she won five singles titles and 13 doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals during her amateur tennis career. Marble also hobnobbed with celebrities such as Clark Gable, advocated for black tennis player Althea Gibson, and contributed to the Wonder Woman comic book. As for her personal life, she wrote of her marriage to a man who was killed in action during World War II and also asserted that she spied on a former lover in Geneva during the closing days of the conflict. Yet for all his prodigious research, Weintraub is unable to verify either of these stories. This poses a problem for readers, as does the author's occasional verbosity--e.g., why not use "typewriter" instead of "keys of an Underwood"? Nonetheless, Weintraub more than compensates for such minor flaws. He skillfully provides the historical and social contexts for Marble's life, and his sketches of her contemporaries, particularly Tennant, are enlightening. The author also deftly sprinkles his narrative with charming anecdotes, such as the story of Marble's brief (and frustrating) tenure as tennis instructor for future astronaut Sally Ride. "You only live once, and that woman lived," Rita Mae Brown once said. Weintraub ably conveys this sentiment.

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Starred review from June 1, 2020

Alice Marble, one of the all-time greats in tennis, won 18 grand slam championships, including wins in both singles and doubles competition. Her best years of competition were between 1936 and 1940 before War World II changed the course of her life. Weintraub (No Better Friend) vividly depicts Marble's life and times using primary and secondary sources, including the athlete's own memoirs and correspondence. Beginning with Marble's childhood in the San Francisco Bay area and how she developed an interest in tennis, Weintraub continues to share how she toured the United States playing in various tournaments and supporting up-and-coming stars such as Billie Jean King and Althea Gibson. The author also recounts her successful and sometimes volatile relationship with coach Eleanor "Teach" Tennant. Marble was a woman of mystery; she claimed in her book Courting Danger she was married to a soldier killed in the war and later, after his death, became involved in a dangerous espionage mission. Weintraub's research endeavors to shed more insight into her life. VERDICT An intriguing book about a fascinating woman, and an inspirational story of her overcoming various odds to become a tennis legend. Highly recommended.--Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Queens Village, NY

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