Description
Book SynopsisLudwig Bemelmans came to the California home of famed interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl, for cocktails. By the end of the night, he was firmly established as a member of the family: given a bedroom in their sumptuous house, invitations to the most outrageous parties in Hollywood, and the friendship of the larger-than-life woman known to her closest friends simply as 'Mother'. With hilarity and mischief, Bemelmans lifts the curtain on a bygone world of extravagance and eccentricity, where the parties are held in circus tents and populated by ravishing movie stars. To the One I Love the Best is a luminous painting of life's oddities and a touching tribute to a fabulously funny woman.
Trade Review"This book is a must."
-- The New York Times
"An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein."
--Kirkus Reviews
“Delightful... It was Bemelmans’ privilege to have known [Lady Mendl] and it’s ours to have his gorgeous recollections.”
--Sunday Times
“A beautiful, fun and emotion-filled piece of social history.”
--Irish Independent
“The charm of To the One I Love the Best lies in the peerless combination of author and subject.”
--Paris Review
"About a third of the way through the book I decided that Lady Mendl, was one of the great comic creations in the history of literature . . . as airy as a soufflé, full of the sun and smells of California . . . Madeline for grown ups."
--The Spectator
“Reissued treasure.”
--The Gloss
