NOT ALL DIAMONDS AND ROSÉ

A lengthy oral history of the outrageous series.

Applying straightforward journalistic standards to a pursuit as escapist as Bravo’s Real Housewives series feels misguided when there’s so much voyeuristic joy in watching a few minutes of table-flipping antics or heated arguments about underwear. Regardless, this book takes the show seriously. Quinn, best known for his work at People and Entertainment Weekly, doesn’t do much writing, allowing the principals to speak for themselves. That’s a shame because his sometimes-shady notes that summarize events and quickly move the story along can be more entertaining than the self-serving testimony of a Housewife who feels wronged. It’s clear that Quinn wants everyone to have their say, as they relive the creation of The Real Housewives of Orange County, which launched the franchise, and every iteration since—in New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Beverly Hills, and elsewhere. Quinn provides each Housewife’s origin story and (usually) why they exited their particular show. “It’s like when somebody is president of the United States,” explains Miami Housewife Ana Quincoces. “They will forever be called president. And a Housewife will always be a Housewife.” The narrative is most engaging when it shows multiple behind-the-scenes explanations from the Housewives and the producers about now-famous, or infamous, scenes from the show—e.g., New Jersey Housewife Teresa Giudice’s legendary table-flipping outburst punctuated with her screams of “Prostitution whore!”—or the increasingly explosive reunion shows hosted by Bravo executive Andy Cohen. However, when one of the principals chooses not to cooperate—a list that includes the franchise’s two biggest successes, Bethenny Frankel and NeNe Leakes, and dozens of others, as well as actors Kim Fields and Denise Richards—suddenly there is a gaping hole that can’t really be filled, which will disappoint Housewife completists.

Housewives fans will delight in the insider gossip, but this serious treatment won’t create many converts for the franchise.