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The Woman Who Knew Everyone
- Author
- Meryl Gordon
- Narrator
- Carrington MacDuffie
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Publish Date
- 7 January 2025
- Run Time
- 13 hours 40 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
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 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.
"A lively, well-researched account of a powerful woman." ―Kirkus Reviews
"A reverent ode to an overlooked fixture of midcentury American politics." ―Publishers Weekly
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Details
- Author
- Meryl Gordon
- Narrator
- Carrington MacDuffie
- Duration
- 13 hours 40 minutes
- Release Date
- 7 January 2025
- ISBN
- 9781549181023
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Genre
- Biography: arts and entertainment, Biography: general, Gender studies: women and girls, Biography: historical, political and military, Political leaders and leadership
Synopsis
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 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.  "A lively, well-researched account of a powerful woman." ―Kirkus Reviews "A reverent ode to an overlooked fixture of midcentury American politics." ―Publishers Weekly
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