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The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos
Here for the first time is the story of Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, First Lady of 32 million Filipinos, as it has never been told before....
A modern Cinderella story, it tells of how she rose from being a destitute child to becoming the most powerful woman of the country. As late as 1953, she was a starry-eyed, penniless, provincial lass in search of a good fortune in Manila. Then came Ferdinand E. Marcos, literally a knight in shining armor who rescued her from poverty and misery. "I will make you the First Lady of the land," he promised her.
Complete, detailed replete with facts and documents which have been painstakingly hidden from the public by the administration's image-makers, her life story as told in generations. It explains Imelda's much vaunted charisma which in President Marcos' own words garnered one million votes in the 1965 elections.
She is a person who is difficult to be indifferent to. This book tells us why.
A modern Cinderella story, it tells of how she rose from being a destitute child to becoming the most powerful woman of the country. As late as 1953, she was a starry-eyed, penniless, provincial lass in search of a good fortune in Manila. Then came Ferdinand E. Marcos, literally a knight in shining armor who rescued her from poverty and misery. "I will make you the First Lady of the land," he promised her.
Complete, detailed replete with facts and documents which have been painstakingly hidden from the public by the administration's image-makers, her life story as told in generations. It explains Imelda's much vaunted charisma which in President Marcos' own words garnered one million votes in the 1965 elections.
She is a person who is difficult to be indifferent to. This book tells us why.
231 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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727 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 15, 2013
Simply beautiful. Engaging read. Once I started this book, I could not put it down. Well, maybe I am a Filipino and was born at the time when the Marcos couple started to rule the land and I was in my second year in college when they lifted Martial Law and was already working when they were ousted from power by a peaceful revolution. In short, they were there in almost the whole first 20 years of my life here on earth.
Prior to this book, I only had a sketchy knowledge of the early life of Imelda Marcos. I heard that she was a poor girl in Tacloban walking barefoot from her home to school while carrying her shoes because she only had one and that was the reason why bought thousands of shoes when she became the first lady of the country. Being extremely deprived when she was young turned her to a spendthrift buying all her wishes to the detriment of the country coiffure. Surprisingly, this barefoot walking to save the shoes is not even mentioned in this book. What is mentioned here is that the young Imelda has this habit of walking barefoot from inside the house to the street in front especially when she is excited to see the incoming visitor. This happened the first time Marcos and Imelda are in Tacloban after their marriage.
The focus of the book is the time Imelda was born up to the time the couple landed into power. Something that has been rarely written. Most of what is already written has her life as a first lady and most of them are libelous and controversial. This book has the innocent Imelda with P5 in her pocket who goes from Tacloban to Manila to escape a Protestant boyfriend in Tacloban and find her fortune in Manila to help her siblings and study piano for free. Something that differentiates her from Evita Peron to whom she has been compared many times. Hey, Imelda and Evita are both good-looking and sing beautifully but I think the comparison should stop there.
What I particularly found amazing in this book, aside from the knowledge about the lady, is the narration. The title gives one the expectation that this is just about Imelda. If you read closely, this is about the Romualdezes tracing the family history from Daniel to Vicente Orestes and his elder brothers to Imelda and her step siblings and own siblings. The narrative shifts back and forth and I got hooked towards the end when Pedrosa alternately describes Marcos and Vicente Orestes as she provides an interesting study of contrasts between the two men and they are not even father and son but father-in-law and son.
Pedrosa is one of Imelda's blue ladies so it helped in giving credibility to her story about the First Lady. The whole book does not smell like a fan book though. When it was first published in 1969, the couple in Malacanang tried to stop its launching and the Pedrosa couple self-exiled themselves in London and only went back to the Philippines when Martial Law was lifted in 1981.
One of the best books that I've read this year.
Prior to this book, I only had a sketchy knowledge of the early life of Imelda Marcos. I heard that she was a poor girl in Tacloban walking barefoot from her home to school while carrying her shoes because she only had one and that was the reason why bought thousands of shoes when she became the first lady of the country. Being extremely deprived when she was young turned her to a spendthrift buying all her wishes to the detriment of the country coiffure. Surprisingly, this barefoot walking to save the shoes is not even mentioned in this book. What is mentioned here is that the young Imelda has this habit of walking barefoot from inside the house to the street in front especially when she is excited to see the incoming visitor. This happened the first time Marcos and Imelda are in Tacloban after their marriage.
The focus of the book is the time Imelda was born up to the time the couple landed into power. Something that has been rarely written. Most of what is already written has her life as a first lady and most of them are libelous and controversial. This book has the innocent Imelda with P5 in her pocket who goes from Tacloban to Manila to escape a Protestant boyfriend in Tacloban and find her fortune in Manila to help her siblings and study piano for free. Something that differentiates her from Evita Peron to whom she has been compared many times. Hey, Imelda and Evita are both good-looking and sing beautifully but I think the comparison should stop there.
What I particularly found amazing in this book, aside from the knowledge about the lady, is the narration. The title gives one the expectation that this is just about Imelda. If you read closely, this is about the Romualdezes tracing the family history from Daniel to Vicente Orestes and his elder brothers to Imelda and her step siblings and own siblings. The narrative shifts back and forth and I got hooked towards the end when Pedrosa alternately describes Marcos and Vicente Orestes as she provides an interesting study of contrasts between the two men and they are not even father and son but father-in-law and son.
Pedrosa is one of Imelda's blue ladies so it helped in giving credibility to her story about the First Lady. The whole book does not smell like a fan book though. When it was first published in 1969, the couple in Malacanang tried to stop its launching and the Pedrosa couple self-exiled themselves in London and only went back to the Philippines when Martial Law was lifted in 1981.
One of the best books that I've read this year.
August 26, 2014
note: I've read the copy of the first edition (by Tandem Publishing Company, Ltd.), which is unavailable on goodreads.
September 24, 2021
The year was 1986, I was fifteen, and in those heady February days leading to EDSA, and the unbelievable, triumphant weeks and months after the phenomenon of People Power, this was the book that dominated hushed conversations before excerpts were bannered on the national dailies, post-EDSA.
While there were other exposés on the Marcoses, written by insiders with a better handle on the political and economic machinations of the doomed dictatorship (The Conjugal Dictatorship by Primitivo Mijares, for one), it was Imelda who always captivated the audience first. Most appealing, even endearing to your average Filipina housewife was Imeldific's life trajectory of almost fairy tale proportions. Which explains why Ms Carmen Pedrosa's unauthorized, outlawed biography on the erstwhile First Lady was the book du jour of the second half of the 1980s.
*Dumaguete and Negros Oriental residents were especially thrilled to read the passages on Agustin Sibala, Imelda's first love from Tanjay; like most doomed relationships of that era, religion made it impossible for them to wed, he being Protestant and she, from a staunch Catholic family, barred by her father from converting.
While there were other exposés on the Marcoses, written by insiders with a better handle on the political and economic machinations of the doomed dictatorship (The Conjugal Dictatorship by Primitivo Mijares, for one), it was Imelda who always captivated the audience first. Most appealing, even endearing to your average Filipina housewife was Imeldific's life trajectory of almost fairy tale proportions. Which explains why Ms Carmen Pedrosa's unauthorized, outlawed biography on the erstwhile First Lady was the book du jour of the second half of the 1980s.
*Dumaguete and Negros Oriental residents were especially thrilled to read the passages on Agustin Sibala, Imelda's first love from Tanjay; like most doomed relationships of that era, religion made it impossible for them to wed, he being Protestant and she, from a staunch Catholic family, barred by her father from converting.
September 23, 2025
“She realized that as a wealthy congressman’s wife, she could buy everything she needed and wanted to have a share of her husband’s wealth.”
This book is well-written. Very engaging from beginning to end. The author wrote this book during the time with courage and had to exile the country just for their family’s safety. The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos proved how the rumors about Ferdinand Marcos’ reign was actually controlled by his First Lady were semi-true. It was actually a team-up between the husband and wife to rise to power, which lead to what the Philippines known as one of the country’s darkest times.
Imelda’s story would made you think that it was one of those rags-to-riches story. At some point, I actually felt bad for her during her early days. I was also rooting for her, but knowing the end results, I kinda understood how the country’s perception of the First Lady was an image molded by wealth and power through her husband.
Additionally, the documentary ‘The Kingmaker’ is a sequel to this book. You can see towards the end of the book how Imelda has the rational type of leadership. The mastermind behind her husband’s presidential election success.
This book is well-written. Very engaging from beginning to end. The author wrote this book during the time with courage and had to exile the country just for their family’s safety. The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos proved how the rumors about Ferdinand Marcos’ reign was actually controlled by his First Lady were semi-true. It was actually a team-up between the husband and wife to rise to power, which lead to what the Philippines known as one of the country’s darkest times.
Imelda’s story would made you think that it was one of those rags-to-riches story. At some point, I actually felt bad for her during her early days. I was also rooting for her, but knowing the end results, I kinda understood how the country’s perception of the First Lady was an image molded by wealth and power through her husband.
Additionally, the documentary ‘The Kingmaker’ is a sequel to this book. You can see towards the end of the book how Imelda has the rational type of leadership. The mastermind behind her husband’s presidential election success.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2022
This a good read. It has enabled me to see the former first lady Imelda as a person and where she is coming from. The 3000 pairs of shoes, meticulously taken care of shows how she gives importance to them. I don’t see it as extravagant. Surely many other rich women have acquired close to that figure but never bothered to keep them all. Imelda housed those shoes and so was able to preserve them up until they were forced to flee Malacañan Palace. This book made me realize that Imelda knew and experienced how it was to be poor and she almost always carry something to give to the people. She is not as evil as she’s portrayed in some books. I enjoyed reading this book. The only thing that bothers me was this was never corroborated by the subject herself. The family of the author of this book self-exiled but not chased away from the country. Maybe now, she could put that to rest if the author would finally meet her and ask her the questions she so wanted to verify.
May 25, 2022
Detailed account of the circumstances that shaped the character and values of Imelda Marcos.
##
Prior to the book, my knowledge of her character was only that she was the, "old, vile, corrupted, and excessive woman," who ruled with Ferdinard Marcos Sr. during the dictatorship. While that remains true, I now have a better understanding of where such uniquely evil personality has come from. The hardships of Imelda Marcos pale in comparison to those faced by the Filipino people as a result of their rule, but she has been deprived enough in childhood to develop unrestrained ambition and greed as a young woman. It was an overall interesting read that has not only given insights on the story of Imelda, but has also provided a lens in which we can view the pre-Marcos Philippines.
Further, the book gave a glimpse of the life of Manila's political elite. It's a world far removed from the ordinary man's, and its inclusion in the book has given me a new perspective on the most powerful political families in the Philippines today.
##
Prior to the book, my knowledge of her character was only that she was the, "old, vile, corrupted, and excessive woman," who ruled with Ferdinard Marcos Sr. during the dictatorship. While that remains true, I now have a better understanding of where such uniquely evil personality has come from. The hardships of Imelda Marcos pale in comparison to those faced by the Filipino people as a result of their rule, but she has been deprived enough in childhood to develop unrestrained ambition and greed as a young woman. It was an overall interesting read that has not only given insights on the story of Imelda, but has also provided a lens in which we can view the pre-Marcos Philippines.
Further, the book gave a glimpse of the life of Manila's political elite. It's a world far removed from the ordinary man's, and its inclusion in the book has given me a new perspective on the most powerful political families in the Philippines today.
November 11, 2022
Where were the shoes???
June 20, 2023
Was looking for sources for my paper and stumbled upon this. Engaging read. I'll probably write something about this for my future Philo classes.
August 3, 2024
This book is super interesting. I loved it!
May 10, 2022
MARCOS, HITLER, DIKTADOR TUTA!
PROMETHEUS UNBOUND
I shall never exchange my fetters for slavish servility.
'Tis better to be chained to the rock than be bound to the service of Zeus.
--Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Mars shall glow tonight,
Artemis is out of sight.
Rust in the twilight sky
Colors a bloodshot eye,
Or shall I say that dust
Sunders the sleep of the just?
Hold fast to the gift of fire!
I am rage! I am wrath! I am ire!
The vulture sits on my rock,
Licks at the chains that mock
Emancipation’s breath,
Reeks of death, death, death.
Death shall not unclench me.
I am earth, wind, and sea!
Kisses bestow on the brave
That defy the damp of the grave
And strike the chill hand of
Death with the flaming sword of love.
Orion stirs. The vulture
Retreats from the hard, pure
Thrust of the spark that burns,
Unbounds, departs, returns
To pluck out of death’s fist
A god who dared to resist.
-Jose F. Lacaba
PROMETHEUS UNBOUND
I shall never exchange my fetters for slavish servility.
'Tis better to be chained to the rock than be bound to the service of Zeus.
--Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Mars shall glow tonight,
Artemis is out of sight.
Rust in the twilight sky
Colors a bloodshot eye,
Or shall I say that dust
Sunders the sleep of the just?
Hold fast to the gift of fire!
I am rage! I am wrath! I am ire!
The vulture sits on my rock,
Licks at the chains that mock
Emancipation’s breath,
Reeks of death, death, death.
Death shall not unclench me.
I am earth, wind, and sea!
Kisses bestow on the brave
That defy the damp of the grave
And strike the chill hand of
Death with the flaming sword of love.
Orion stirs. The vulture
Retreats from the hard, pure
Thrust of the spark that burns,
Unbounds, departs, returns
To pluck out of death’s fist
A god who dared to resist.
-Jose F. Lacaba
November 30, 2022
It was an interesting revelation of the unwanted past that shaped the Imelda we know. From her roots starting from his grandfather, the rise of Romualdezes, the sufferings of Trinidad, to the fierce becoming of the former First Lady - an intensive research was made indeed. No wonder it was banned. This is a glimpse of the Imelda Romualdez-Marcos and her rise to political power.
July 23, 2013
wow. just wow.
a worthy read for every Filipino, loyalist or not.
also, estrella cumpas.
a worthy read for every Filipino, loyalist or not.
also, estrella cumpas.
August 20, 2013
The great thing about biographies is learning new things about people who you think you already know because they live in the public eye. Great read, highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews