HOUSE OF DREAMS. THE BINGHAM FAMILY OF LOUISVILLE.

New York: Fandom House Book. VG+. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. (1988). First Edition, 452pp, index, illustrated, voluminous notes. VG+ in VG dj. Signed and dated by the author on the first free endpaper. From the dj: "House of Dreams is a masterpiece of sensitive, deep reportage and skillful story-telling that grips the reader to the last page. Marie Brenner's narrative weaves exceptionally intimate portraits of the Bingham family (portraits that don't stop at the bedroom door) with riveting historical accounts of the Binghams' active and influential role in twentieth-century America - World War II, the Marshall Plan, Harvard, the evolution of the New South, the White House of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic party of Adlai Stevenson (a frequent houseguest of the Binghams), the New York of Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott, the London of Laurence Olivier and Noel Coward, the Hollywood of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Hedda Hopper. And all the while a mysterious death and other strange occurrences lurk in the background. When tragedy shatters the Bingham family, the reader feels it almost as a loving friend would." The author's research was exhaustive; and, she presents a remarkable amount of detail about this fascinating and powerful family and the dissension that led to the breakup of their media empire..