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The woman who knew everyone : the power of Perle Mesta, Washington's most famous hostess Cover Image

The woman who knew everyone : the power of Perle Mesta, Washington's most famous hostess / Meryl Gordon.

Power of Perle Mesta, Washington's most famous hostess (portion title)

Gordon, Meryl, (author).

Summary:

"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 Perle's 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 Truman's financially flailing 1948 campaign. In this intensely researched biography, author Meryl Gordon chronicles Perle's 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."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781538751244
ISBN: 1538751240
Physical Description: ix, 485 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm
Edition: First edition
Publisher: New York : Grand Central, [2025]
Copyright: ©2025

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction : Broadway bound -- A Texas/Oklahoma upbringing -- The man of steel : George Mesta -- Starting over -- Oklahoma, revisited -- acts of rebellion -- Two-party Perle -- The moon, the stars and all the planets -- The Entertainer-in-Chief -- Democratic Party stalwart -- Dewey beats Truman? -- Just reward, or government by crony? -- Advise and consent -- Lost and found in Luxembourg -- Call me madam -- I like Ike -- Divided loyalties -- Goodbye without leaving -- From royalty to Russia -- There's no place like home -- Have passport, will travel -- The world traveler recovers -- Windy City blues : the party must go on -- Fly me to the moon. -- All the way (or not at all) with LBJ -- A house is not a home -- Alone again -- Blame it on the Frug -- Tumultuous times -- A world turned upside down -- Never give up : a feminist in her eighties -- The octogenarian jetsetter -- "Perle, you're an event in the life of America."