"Meryl Gordon’s sympathetic and involving new biography, The Woman Who Knew Everyone, rescues Mesta from near-obscurity and does her distinctive life justice...readers are likely to find Mesta as endearing as her many party guests did."—Washington Post
“Meryl Gordon offers a thorough biography of Perle Mesta, Washington’s colorful, and oft-mocked, “hostess with the mostes’.”—New York Times
“Author-journalist Meryl Gordon presents Mesta in delectable detail in The Woman Who Knew Everyone, a lively and readable biography.”—The Wall Street Journal
"Charming."—The New Yorker
"Perle Mesta was one of the most famous socialites of midcentury America. Meryl Gordon's new biography of Perle finally puts her firmly in the spotlight."—Town & Country
“Perle Mesta was one of DC’s most famous socialites, a newspaper staple known for her charm and influence…But she was also an activist and important fundraiser, as journalist Meryl Gordon’s new biography, The Woman Who Knew Everyone, makes clear.”—Washingtonian
"Perle Mesta lived in the spirit of “mostest,” pouring herself into everything she did with zest, determination, and humor. Gordon’s book is an easy read through her life, a tribute to the Perle we remember and a revelation of the one we never knew."—Airmail
"Bestselling author Meryl Gordon's biography The Woman Who Knew Everyone, tells the story of the socialite, political savant, and United States envoy to Luxembourg, who turned her gift for hosting parties in the nation's capital into a unique form of activism, becoming one of the most famous women in America."
—CBS News"A lively, well-researched account of a powerful woman."—Kirkus
"Gordon’s thoroughly researched account showcases how Mesta wielded social power as political power, resulting in a finely observed character study...It’s a reverent ode to an overlooked fixture of midcentury American politics."—Publishers Weekly
“Mesta’s larger-than-life persona shines in journalist Gordon’s deeply sourced narrative.”—Booklist
"Filled with fascinating tidbits and cameos by famous and infamous figures, The Woman Who Knew Everyone is neither a political nor a society biography; instead, it bridges the gap in enthralling ways...readers will feel like they're getting the inside scoop." —Shelf Awareness
"Meryl Gordon has painted an absorbing and illuminating portrait of a lost world—one in which Perle Mesta helped shape the public life of the nation through hospitality, friendship, and genuine human relations. It was not a perfect universe, but there is much for us to learn from this story in our own divided time."—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize winning biographer
“So famous they based a hit Broadway musical on her – Perle Mesta lived life out loud, and what a life it was. Meryl Gordon captures this smart, pushy, determined, unsinkable character – a girl from Oklahoma who became a friend to presidents and one of the most influential women in Washington.”—Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY and NYT bestselling author of The Rulebreaker
“Meryl Gordon’s “The Woman Who Knew Everyone” is a masterful telling of the wily, brilliant Perle Mesta, a wealthy hostess and keen political observer who was as comfortable throwing wild, all-night parties as she was whipping party votes. Gordon’s lively narrative depicts Mesta’s singular determination to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and lays bare how drawing rooms were often as powerful as backrooms. In another era, Mesta might have become the U.S. President, rather than befriended them.”
—Julie Satow, New York Times bestselling author of "When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion"
“Meryl Gordon’s deeply researched and consistently entertaining biography is a happy reminder that history is made not only by political leaders but by people like Perle Mesta, the tough and determined “hostess with the mostess.” In mid-century America, Mesta carved a memorable path through the rivalrous social life of a city where a lost invitation feels like a wound and the right sort of guestlist is a celebration of the tribe."
—Jeffrey Frank, author of The Trials of Harry S. Truman and Ike and Dick
“In mid-twentieth-century America, wealthy widow Perle Mesta was a household name – renowned as a savvy hostess, a diplomat, a confidant of presidents, an activist for feminist causes. Meryl Gordon has written a fascinating book weaving Mesta's improbable life with the Washington whose society she shaped. I loved every minute of this trip back in time.”—Karen Tumulty, associate editor for the Washington Post and author of The Triumph of Nancy Reagan
“Meryl Gordon has done it again with another superb portrait of a wealthy society matron whose private life was vastly more complicated than her public profile. What adds special zest to her biography of Perle Mesta is that this Washington doyenne was born an outsider from Oklahoma—rather than a child of the WASP aristocracy. Mesta was brash, politically cunning, and passionate about women’s rights, even as she relished her role as a “hostess.” Gordon brings alive a lost world of Washington with her trademark deep reporting and vivid detail.”
—David Ignatius, columnist at The Washington Post and bestselling author
