Because I thought I'd have time over the past few days, I stacked on some autobiographies to tie me over until end-Jan. Tina Brown, Joan Juliet Buck, Grace Mirabella, and Diana Vreeland. Wanted to throw Kirstie Clements in as well, but that's like biting off more than you can chew. Only completed Tina's book because, well, family happens.
Quite enjoyed listening to Brown's audio recount of her diaries. It's comical, insightful, bittersweet, and fiercely British all at the same time. One can't tell whether she liked or loathed Si Newhouse and Grace Mirabella, whether she truly comprehended the role she took (a woman heading VF), or whether she really despised Trump as much she claims (hard to believe considering the amount of press he got from her), but the rest are all gold if you're a VF fanatic. There's her veiled disdain for Locke's VF (her predecessor), her vision for VF, how she weathered power agents, juicy tidbits behind iconic covers and shots, how she was the one who chanced on the idea to launch the UK edition of VF, her fury at the expansion of VF Italy and the like. It's all very eloquent. Anna gets numerous mentions (there was clearly no beef between these two), Joan Juliet Buck as well, and she made a concerted effort to expose Jackie O and her meangirl ways, while inadvertently outing Annie Leibovitz as temperamental.
Ultimately it's a very clear and colourful recount of the excess and the 80s. That comes via her recollection of the staggering amounts of Aids-related deaths the fashion and publishing industry suffered during her tenure. Nearly every chapter contains at least one or more fallen heroes, all recounted in a very matter-of-fact tone. Yet on the other hand she also glorifies the Reagans to nauseating effect, yet deplore Barbara Bush, which I found very, very odd.
I found the bits about her personal life a bit dull. Getting duped out of $5000 by a short man with a porkpie hat seemed the most exciting thing to happen to her in well over a decade. But the reflection on her legacy sounded earnest. She really just wanted to create a high-class Tatler filled with intellectualism and literature, maybe with more celebs as well. I don't own any of her issues, but I sure would like to get some now. What Graydon Carter brought to the table was more celebrities and some hard-hitting political and corporate reporting.
