The Woman Who Knew Everyone: The Power of Perle Mesta, Washington's Most Famous Hostess
Perle Mesta was one of the most famous women in America in the 1940's, 50's and 60's, a darling of newspaper political and gossip columnists, a fixture in society pages. Irving Berlin wrote an entire musical based on her life, "Call Me Madam," in which she was portrayed by Ethel Merman. Often under-estimated, she championed the Equal Rights Amendment and made key feminist strides.
Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend
This American aristocrat was married to one of the wealthiest men in America -- Paul Mellon -- and was press -shy in her life time. With the co-operation of Bunny Mellon's family, author Meryl Gordon received access to thousands of pages of her letters, diaries and appointment calendars and interviewed more than 175 people.
Mrs. Astor Regrets
The endearing Brooke Astor, New York's fairy godmother, vanished in her final years until a shocking lawsuit became public. Her grandson Philip Marshall, along with Annette de la Renta, David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger, sued Brooke's only son Anthony Marshall for elder abuse. This powerful and poignant saga takes readers inside the gilded gates of an American dynasty.
The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark
The daughter of one of the richest men in America, Huguette Clark grew up in her family's 121-room Manhattan mansions, with frequent visits to Butte, Montana, where her father William Andrews Clark made a fortune as a copper magnate and robber baron. A talented artist as a young woman, she became a recluse in her 50's, not only refusing to leave her Fifth Avenue apartment but keeping out visitors. Finally admitted to a hospital with skin cancer, she was so entranced by the human contact that she refused to leave, giving away millions of dollars to her private nurses and the hospital. When she died at age 103, a headline making battle erupted over her fortune.