GOSSIP: A History of High Society from 1920 to 1970

Whatever happened to put Radclyffe Hall in the headlines? When did Eleanor Roosevelt make news ""with only 44 lb. of luggage?"" On what occasion did the Prince of Wales introduce Mrs. Simpson to his parents? The gossip itemized here day-by-day is London society gossip--50 years' worth of absolute trivia, tabloid scandals, celebrity prattle, historical minutiae, and, now and again, a social gem. On February 19, 1951, ""Nubar Gulbenkian, resplendent in a full-length purple overcoat, left London to visit his multi-millionaire father in Lisbon. Gulbenkian and his valet were the only passengers on a specially chartered forty-seat BOAC aircraft. Asked to explain the purpose of his visit, Gulbenkian produced a lemon from his pocket and said, 'Here is your answer.'"" Author Barrow, in short, is a droll fellow who takes none of this flimflam seriously; and the reader with nothing better to do with his/her time could while it away divertingly by following the fortunes of Antony Armstrong-Jones over the years (33 entries) or dropping in at the wedding of Rita Hayworth and Aly Khan. So, with occasional photos: Sharman Douglas' father's hiccups, the discouraging job search of the Earl of Mountbatten's ex-butler, and all the other news that someone once saw fit to print.