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Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens: A Life in Pictures
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About Edith Bouvier Beale Of Grey Gardens: A Life In
Product Description Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale (1917-2002) is best known for her appearance in the critically acclaimed 1975 film Grey Gardens, a documentary by Albert and David Maysles that explored the reclusive lives of Beale and her mother "Big Edie," the first cousin and aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, respectfully. Over the past three decades, the film and its eccentric stars have become cult icons, inspiring fashion tributes by the likes of Phillip Lim and John Galliano, a hit Broadway musical adaptation that swept up three Tony Awards in 2007, and an upcoming HBO movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange as the famed odd couple. Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens: A Life in Pictures, the latest installment in a series that includes photo-biographies of John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, and others, presents the most in-depth look at the life of Little Edie since the Maysles' film vaulted her into the public consciousness. Conceived by members of the Beale family, the book traces a line from Edie's childhood through her heady days as a young socialite and her later years at Grey Gardens, the decrepit East Hampton estate where she and her mother lived in near-total isolation for decades. Featuring over 150 newly uncovered photographs and letters, Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens offers unprecedented access to the personal history of this twentieth-century woman of mystery. Review "The book is filled with photographs, letters, drawings and sundry scrapbook items (J.F.K. and Jackie's wedding invitation, a letter from Macy's encouraging her to model) culled from Edie's overstuffed and truly inspiring archives." --The New York Times From the Author As the immediate family of Edith Bouvier Beale, it is with great pleasure and pride that we present this collection of work after almost half a century of collecting dust in family archives. Following her death in 2002 our family began the heartbreaking task of putting my aunt, Little Edie's, remaining possessions in order. Nostalgic and captivated, I carefully sifted thought the contents of the boxes, suitcases, and scrapbooks that she had saved over the decades: photographs, journals, writings, poetry, sketches, and letters were packaged in small, labeled bundles (an arrangement that eventually made the publication of this collection possible), that presented an insightful chronology of Little Edie's life. Although Little and Big Edie Beale were thrust into the public's view following the release of the Grey Gardens documentary, the true story of Little Edie's life has essentially remained a mystery since the mid 1950's. In contrast to the documentary, what became strikingly clear was the love, dedication, and seeming normalcy of her privileged youth. Filled with family vacations, costume parties, soirées, fashin shows, fundraising functions, and weekly trips to the cinema, the Beale family lived a remarkably loving life within the Hamptons high society of the early 20th century. I found an astounding number of photographs, letters, and poems from her childhood, presenting quite the contrast to the cats and decrepitude of Grey Gardens during the 1970s. However, as was reflected in various letters, bank statements, and attorney correspondences, as the economic pressures of the Depression years set it, life began to change for little Edie at Grey Gardens, gradually transforming into the familiar scene of the 1970s documentary. Nonetheless, despite the Beale's steady economic decline over the course of almost half a decade, the loving and graceful writings from these years make their continued creativity, dedication to one and other, good nature, and attempt to maintain their dignity conspicuously clear. Immediately following my Aunt Edie's death, I began the arduous process of reconstructing her young life in order to compile this collection. As a close family member, I have enjoyed the privilege of having Edie's
