Q&A with Meryl Gordon

 

Photo by Nina Subin

 

 

 

Meryl Gordon is the author of the new biography The Woman Who Knew Everyone: The Power of Perle Mesta, Washington's Most Famous Hostess. Gordon's other books include The Phantom of Fifth Avenue.

 

Q: What inspired you to write a biography of Perle Mesta (1889-1975)?

 

A: In 2019, I saw a revival of the 1950 Broadway show Call Me Madam, by Irving Berlin and two co-authors, which was inspired by Perle Mesta’s extraordinary life.

 

I wanted to know more, and in reading up about her, I discovered there had never been a biography of Perle, even though she was one of the most famous women in America for decades.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Spoofed in the musical Call Me Madam, with Ethel Merman playing the lead, Perle was more than a flighty socialite: As Gordon portrays her, she proved to be an able goodwill ambassador and savvy political operator.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think the Kirkus Review got it right. Perle was primarily known for being a popular hostess, but she was so much more than that – an able diplomat, a powerful advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, and someone who brought politicians from both parties together.

Q: How did you research her life, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: Since Perle died in 1975, her contemporaries were long gone. But the Truman, Eisenhower and LBJ presidential libraries, the National Archives, and the New York Historical Society all had voluminous material – letters and oral histories and useful background info.

 

I was able to interview the children and grandchildren of her friends, and Washington reporters who covered her parties. And I read thousands of newspaper and magazine stories, dating back to the turn of the century.

 

Q: What do you think Perle Mesta would make of today’s Washington, D.C.?

 

A: Perle Mesta was a Republican who became a Democrat. She was friendly with politicians from both parties. I think she would be dismayed by the current Washington vitriol, and the inability of politicians to work together for the good of the country.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Before I began working on this book, I was unaware that Perle was such a big supporter of job opportunities for women. She wrote op-eds and lobbied politicians to try to make that happen. For me, this book was a chance to revisit American history and see it from Perle’s perspective.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Meryl Gordon.