Description

A TOWN & COUNTRY MUST READ BOOK OF 2025
AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIR

A deeply researched biography of the socialite, political hostess, activist and United States envoy to Luxembourg, Perle Mesta, from New York Times bestselling author Meryl Gordon.

Perle Mesta was a force to be reckoned with. In her heyday, this wealthy globe-trotting Washington widow was one of the most famous women in America, garnering as much media attention as Eleanor Roosevelt. Renowned for her world-class parties featuring politicians and celebrities, she was very close to three presidents-Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson. Truman named her as the first female envoy to Luxembourg, which inspired the hit musical based on Perles life Call Me Madam which starred Ethel Merman, ran on Broadway for two years and later became a movie. A pioneering supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, she was a prodigious Democratic fundraiser and rescued Harry Trumans financially flailing 1948 campaign.

In this intensely researched biography, author Meryl Gordon chronicles Perles lavish life and society adventures in Newport, Manhattan and Washington, while highlighting her important, but nearly forgotten contribution to American politics and the feminist movement.

Author: Meryl Gordon
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 01/07/2025
Pages: 496
Weight: 1.6lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.90d
ISBN: 9781538751244
Language: English