Dominick Dunne (1925–2009)

Re-read in 2014. I am a fan of Dominick Dunne's writing. He knows his subject, in this case wealthy New York socialites. An observer, Gus/Dominick is not one of them but is invited to their functions. Dunne has an acute ear for dialogue: 'Hellohowareyou'. And his characters and their pretensions are succinctly revealed in a line or two of dialogue. Wickedly funny, the writing is so talented and appears effortless. And the subject-matter? It's like flicking through 'Hello' magazine at the show more hairdressers, but without the guilt. show less

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles by Dominick Dunne

A trashy roman è clef is what this is. Here's the story. William Grenville Jr. is the most eligible young bachelor in New York's high society. Fabulously wealthy, handsome, somewhat shy and introverted. He meets and is bedded by a showgirl, Ann Arden. He is, as they used to say, reamed, steamed, and dry cleaned. Against the wishes of his imperious mother (the first Mrs. Grenville), he marries Ann in Tacoma hours before shipping off to the Pacific show more battles of WWII. He returns from the war to resume his life in New York, Oyster Bay, Newport, and at his Kentucky thoroughbred farm. Ann (the second Mrs. Grenville) works very diligently to fit into his society but isn't really accepted. Too many gaffes. She is, it turns out, a Bitch (yes, with that capital B), especially when schnockered, which is often. She's a loose lady, too, but insanely jealous of her husband. After attending—and making a loud, destructive scene—at a party for the Duchess of Wales, she and her husband return to their estate and she shoots him with a shotgun. Shoots him dead!

All this and, of course, more, much much more, is conveyed to us by a writer named Basil Plante, who drifts in and out of these society doings, trying, in the end, to coax the truth out of Ann.

As I said, this is a roman è clef. It really happened. Only all the names have been changed. The real names were Billy Woodward Jr. and his wife Ann. Ann shot Billy, but Billy's mother organized a high society stonewall in which no one at the party had a hard word for Ann. Yahda yahda. A grand jury didn't indict her. She got away with murder! Ann's MIL (very reluctantly) stood by her and directed Billy's four sisters to stand by her also. "We can't have this splashed in the newspapers." But Ann really was closed out. In this (true) story, Basil is Truman Capote, who exposed Ann Woodward in a chapter of his unfinished book [Answered Prayers]. When that chapter was published by Esquire, Ann Woodward took cyanide. Blluttt! End of story.

Except that Dunne's version enjoyed best-sellerdom, and it was made into a TV movie starring Ann-Margaret as Ann and Steven Collins as Billy. In her final role, Claudette Colbert played the first Mrs. Grenville, Billy's mother.

As I said, it's trashy, but it is a page-turner. Quick read, pretty entertaining, of no particular lasting value. show less

When young Harrison Burns becomes an accessory to a crime of passion committed by his friend and prep school classmate Constant Bradley, his silence is bought by patriarch Gerald. 'My soul was lost, but my future was bought and paid for'.

In 1975, 15-year-old Martha Moxley, who lived in a wealthy area of Greenwich, Conn., was found beaten to death with a golf club. The prime suspect was the 17-year-old neighbour, Thomas Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy. "A Season in Purgatory" was designed show more to parallel the Moxley murder case. There is a theme of power and privilege - as well as the theme that those with the most expensive lawyers win.

"A Season in Purgatory" blends in all the familiar tales of Kennedy damage and damage control. Constant Bradley's classy, beautiful wife, Charlotte, is given a million dollars by his father when she threatens to leave him because of his womanizing. A mentally challenged sister is packed off to an insane asylum and never mentioned. People are paid to write school essays and an autobiography for Constant, and his father buys up copies of the book to make sure it is a best seller. The oldest brother, Jerry, who is really supposed to be the great family political hope, has an accident, and the woman with him ends up in a wheelchair. A sister becomes an alcoholic. Gerald Bradley has a stroke.

Dominick Dunne (disclosure: he is one of my favourite authors - I subscribed to Vanity Fair for years just so I could read his column) has taken all the most chilling character flaws of generations of Kennedy's and compressed them into one creepy plot line (which happens to be closer to true than not) - a highly readable tale about the privileged who feel they can make their own rules. show less

This book is a collection of Dominick Dunne's articles for Vanity Fair concerning true crimes. Unfortunately they are the ones that have already been hashed and rehashed to death (no pun intended). I always liked Mr. Dunne. I have enjoyed his appearances on T.V. as well as the book the Two Mrs. Grenvilles. The best story in the whole collection is the first one where he recounts the murder of his daughter, the actress Dominique Dunne, and subsequent trial of her killer John Sweeney. It is show more told from the perspective that only a father's rage and despair can provide. It is no wonder then that Dominick Dunne became such a friend to crime victims families. His hatred of O.J. comes from the same place as his hatred of his own daughters killer, the total revulsion for a man who would kill a woman he supposedly loved. In this book the stories of Claus Von Bulow, the Menendenez brothers, O.J. Simpson, and Michael Skakel are told from a not unbiased point of view. Dominick Dunne ran in the same circle as many of the people who knew these killers personally and he is not afraid to name names and reveal his insider knowledge of the cases. What surprised me the most was how many ways murderers were connected to other murderers. For instance Clause Von Bulow, before marrying Sunny, had an affair with Anne Woodward after she murdered her husband and whose story was the basis of Dunne's book the Two Mrs. Grenvilles. The Menendez brother's had many coincidental connections to O.J. Simpson as well. The rich apparently move in the same small circles. Fascinating stuff. The only part that really dragged for me were all of the chapters dedicated to the O.J. case. At the time this book was published it was probably shocking stuff but now from the perspective of ten years later the chapters drag on too long. If you don't know O.J. did it by now you have my sympathy. Everyone and anyone who was connected to the case has written a book, I think even Nicole's dog, Kato has one. If for some reason you should find yourself still interested in the case there is really only one book you need to read by O.J. Simpson. Not that ridiculous I Want to Tell you, the one where he lays out his full confession, (if) I Did It! which contains a forward by guess who, Dominick Dunne! The Martha Moxley murder is also discussed here and Dunne reveals how he was instrumental in bringing Michael Skakel to justice through his thinly veiled recounting of the crime in A Season in Purgatory. Who was his partner in exposing the killer?, none other than Mark Fuhrman of O.J. Simpson trial fame. It's really a small world after all. Even though the crimes in this book are old, very old news, it is still worth reading just to experience Dominick Dunnes distinctive voice again. I was very sad to hear of his passing but I know Dominique was waiting in heaven for him with a well done dad. show less