The Secret History of Wonder Woman

The Secret History of Wonder Woman

Jill Lapore

Wonder Woman’s unique characteristics include a mythical Amazon origin on Paradise Island, superior physical strength, and feminine beauty. These traits combine to make her an icon for young Americans, even today. With Batman and Superman, she forms a triumvirate of American comic book heroes. These three have had the longest running popularity of any comic characters, and have long standing magazines solely devoted to their own adventures.

Like Batman and Superman, Wonder Woman has a secret identity. Unlike them, she also has a secret history. This is the story Jill Lapore reveals in her book. As a staff writer for The New Yorker and professor of American History at Harvard, Lapore knows what the word research means.

Lapore’s story begins with the birth of William Moulton Marston, first author of Wonder Woman. He was a paradox. Marston was profoundly influenced by suffragists and early feminists such as Emmeline Pankhurst and birth control advocate Margaret Sanger. He was also a secret polygamist. He married his childhood sweetheart Sadie Elisabeth Holloway and later took Olive Byrne as his mistress.

Wonder Woman herself was a paradox, inspired by suffragists, early feminists, and the pinup art of the war time 1940’s.  Later, particularly after Marston’s death due to polio, she was authored by more conservative authors who saw her through the censorship of the 1950’s. In the 1970’s she reappeared as a feminist icon on the cover of the first regular issue of Ms. Magazine.

This nonfiction book is a masterpiece, solidly researched yet written with style that interests and entertains.