The Marble Faun of Grey Gardens

A Memoir of the Beales, the Maysles Brothers, and Jacqueline Kennedy

De: Jerry Torre, Tony Maietta, Albert Maysles - introduction

Narrado por: Tony Maietta

The Marble Faun of Grey Gardens is Jerry Torre's touching and at times haunting memoir about his teenage days as caretaker of Grey Gardens, the now-celebrated mansion chronicled in the iconic documentary Grey Gardens and two feature-length films. The book, cowritten with film historian Tony Maietta, is a behind-the-scenes look at "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" and their bizarre and reclusive life of squalor amid the tremendous wealth of East Hampton, the family bond that developed between Jerry and them, and the day everything was turned upside down forever with the arrival of documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles.

What begins as a teenager coming upon what he assumed was an old, abandoned house takes on new dimensions when suddenly Edie appears on the porch draped in a shower curtain with an apron tied around her head. "You must be the Marble Faun," she tells the stunned Jerry. Rather than chasing him away as he at first feared, she invites Jerry to meet her mother upstairs. So begins a strange, unusually close friendship with the two women as Jerry takes on the task of volunteer gardener, often sleeping in their living room and staying out of mother-daughter arguments. The Marble Faun of Grey Gardens is Jerry's look back on the filming of Grey Gardens but also how the notoriety the movie achieved changed his life along with the Beales'.

©2018 Jerry Torre and Tony Maietta; Introduction copyright 2018 by the Albert Maysles estate (P)2022 Tantor

Another Perspective

Jerry Torre was there. He spent a lot of time with Edith and Edie and helping out at Grey Gardens. In this memoir he confirms much of what you saw in the documentary and much that didn't make it on film. He takes you on a deep dive into the lives of these quirky, fascinating women and from a perspective only he can give. Tony Maietta helped with writing this book and did a great job narrating. I searched and I don't believe he's read other audio books, but he should. Lastly, if you haven't seen the documentary, don't worry. You get plenty of knowledge about the Beales here, plus Torre takes you behind the scenes of it being filmed. A must listen.

A must listen

Really loved this book, and the story of jerry his time at grey gardens and beyond!

much need fix for my grey gardens obsession

loved thos book. the narrator did a great job.
this book was one of many in my grey gardens obsession

Jackie''s pauperly relativesGreat story,gay ending

Author is excellent narrator provides a lot of entertaining detail about Jacqueline Onassis' abjectly poor aunt and cousin life in the Hamptons. All went well until Chapter 5, when the author begins his romantic tale about falling in love with another man was as far as I could listen.

Amazing book, amazing read by Tony Maietta!

I read the book but hearing it is even better. You SEE this book with Tony Maietta’s brilliant narration. He plays every character to perfection. We FEEL! There needs to be mini series based on Jerry’s compelling, funny and heartbreaking story.

Eye Opening

I had seen the documentary years ago, but this book really put everything into perspective for me. I learned so much that I hadn't know before. There were really tender moments, and laugh out loud moments, thanks to the wonderful narration by Tony Maeitta. He was really able to capture the voices of the Beales which lent to overall masterful story telling. For anyone who is a fan of Grey Gardens I would highly recommend this book !!!

A must for Grey Gardens fans

This book was addicting and I couldn’t stop listening. I loved hearing all about Grey Gardens from Jerry’s perspective.

A different perspective

Extremely interesting to read a memoir from JT's pov. Eye opening, engaging and ultimately entertaining.

If you think you've heard everything about Grey Gardens, you will be surprised by this book

Outstanding reading experience. The authors of this book tell a story too fantastic to be fiction. I am very familiar with both documentaries on the Beales as well as the Peter Beard doc that was finally released a few years ago and I was still overwhelmed by the stories I heard from Jerry. So many parts of big and little Edie that have only been hinted at previously are expanded and explained in this compelling account of the marble faun. I had no idea his life after Grey Gardens had been so eventful and amazing. His dealings with the likes of Paloma Picasso and Wayland Flowers and Madame were great stories . I am so happy I stumbled across this title. Jerry is an excellent story teller and his life story is astounding and well worth the read. His reflections on the musical were particularly touching and the scene when he meets Christine Ebersol and the actor playing him on Broadway seems surreal after hearing how it all actually happened. I cannot recommend enough- i wish it had been longer! Thank you Jerry!

Great follow on for Grey Gardens fans.

Tony Maietta does a great job with this book and narrative. I admit I was a little disappointed to see that Jerry didn’t narrate the audible version himself, but Tony did a great job. His “voices” for Big Edie and Little Edie were great. Tony did a great job distilling a lot of information into this book. Highly recommend.