Great Hostesses by Brian Masters

From the back cover:"The days of the hostess may be over, but echoes of their sumptuous entertainments brighten the memories of many who dined at their tables.There are fascinating portraits of some of the most famous hostesses of the twentieth century – the last Whig hostess, Lady Desborough, the last Queen of New York, Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt, the political hostess Lady Londonderry and the lion hunter Sibyl Colefax. Mrs Ronnie Greville, who entertained half the crowned heads in Europe remarked ‘one uses up so many red carpets in a season,’ Mrs Stuyvesant Fish, the New Yorker, limited her dinners to 50 minutes, thus giving her guests indigestion.The exploits of these hostesses are recounted with wit and in a style as entertaining as the subject.”

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