WILLS

This is a potpourri of gossipy anecdotes about the wills of various men and women whose claim to attention is wealth, fame or mere idiosyncrasy. The mixed bag includes the testamentary saga of the Woolworth dynasty, the mysterious curse on the Hope diamond, the household pets who have inherited from doting owners, a warmed-over sketch of the demise of Marilyn Monroe, the will of Benjamin Franklin in its entirety and other tidbits running the gamut from obscurity to common knowledge. The authors offer harmless satisfaction for the voyeur in each of us; the information here is mostly a matter of public record in court house files.