Stephen Greco's Blog: Over a Cocktail or Two - Posts Tagged "heiress"
Aboard the SS United States
A little teaser excerpt from Chapter 22, of The Last American Heiresses:
It was after running into each other in Venice, in early June, 1957, at a costume party given by Elsa Maxwell on the rooftop of the Danieli Hotel, that Doris and Barbara decided on the spur of the moment to voyage together later that month to New York, where they were both expected: Doris by a current beau, Joey Castro, a handsome young jazz pianist who was then based mostly in Los Angeles and had gotten a brief gig in a New York club; and Barbara by her sixth husband, Gottfried von Cramm, with whom she’d be going on to Mexico, to the Japanese-style house that she was building in Cuernavaca. In order to spend a few days catching up more or less privately, the women decided to sail, and Doris insisted on their going on the SS United States, the most modern ocean liner of the time, “the incarnation of our global superiority since the war.”
Stealthily and separately, Doris and Barbara made their way to Le Havre and boarded the ship unobtrusively, unnoticed by the press. For herself, Doris had procured the ship’s most luxurious accommodations, the Duck Suite, which comprised two bedrooms and a spacious parlor, decorated in an uncluttered, fashionably contemporary style, with gold-leafed aluminum wall panels featuring delicately painted vignettes with ducks. She was traveling with her companion May McFarland, who several years before had taken over Doris’s Independent Aid charity, after dear Pansy died. Barbara had taken one of the ship’s fourteen other first-class suites for herself and her new favorite beau, Jimmy Douglas—a handsome young American, eighteen years her junior, whom she’d met at Maxwell’s party. Both women were so well-known that it was possible they’d be recognized by at least some on board, but in an effort to minimize unwanted fuss, May had seen to it that the ship’s passenger list would identify these first-class travelers as “Miss May McFarland and maid” and “Mr. and Mrs. James Henderson Douglas.” It was “Mrs. Douglas” who deposited with the purser a jewel case containing necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, but not the enormous thirty-eight-carat diamond ring that she wore practically every day; and it was “Miss McFarland’s maid” who was delighted to learn that she could stash her mistress’s jewels in the Duck Suite’s own safe.
Dinner on the first night was informal…
It was after running into each other in Venice, in early June, 1957, at a costume party given by Elsa Maxwell on the rooftop of the Danieli Hotel, that Doris and Barbara decided on the spur of the moment to voyage together later that month to New York, where they were both expected: Doris by a current beau, Joey Castro, a handsome young jazz pianist who was then based mostly in Los Angeles and had gotten a brief gig in a New York club; and Barbara by her sixth husband, Gottfried von Cramm, with whom she’d be going on to Mexico, to the Japanese-style house that she was building in Cuernavaca. In order to spend a few days catching up more or less privately, the women decided to sail, and Doris insisted on their going on the SS United States, the most modern ocean liner of the time, “the incarnation of our global superiority since the war.”
Stealthily and separately, Doris and Barbara made their way to Le Havre and boarded the ship unobtrusively, unnoticed by the press. For herself, Doris had procured the ship’s most luxurious accommodations, the Duck Suite, which comprised two bedrooms and a spacious parlor, decorated in an uncluttered, fashionably contemporary style, with gold-leafed aluminum wall panels featuring delicately painted vignettes with ducks. She was traveling with her companion May McFarland, who several years before had taken over Doris’s Independent Aid charity, after dear Pansy died. Barbara had taken one of the ship’s fourteen other first-class suites for herself and her new favorite beau, Jimmy Douglas—a handsome young American, eighteen years her junior, whom she’d met at Maxwell’s party. Both women were so well-known that it was possible they’d be recognized by at least some on board, but in an effort to minimize unwanted fuss, May had seen to it that the ship’s passenger list would identify these first-class travelers as “Miss May McFarland and maid” and “Mr. and Mrs. James Henderson Douglas.” It was “Mrs. Douglas” who deposited with the purser a jewel case containing necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, but not the enormous thirty-eight-carat diamond ring that she wore practically every day; and it was “Miss McFarland’s maid” who was delighted to learn that she could stash her mistress’s jewels in the Duck Suite’s own safe.
Dinner on the first night was informal…
Over a Cocktail or Two
A few thoughts about reading and writing, and things we read and write about...
- Stephen Greco's profile
- 134 followers
