Historical Society of Palm Beach County - News - The organization maintains an active research facility in the Paramount Building in Palm Beach. The collections relate to the heritage of all communities in Palm Beach County.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY HOSTS BEST-SELLING AUTHOR DEBORAH DAVIS

PALM BEACH, Fla. (May 25, 2006) — The Historical Society of Palm Beach County recently hosted best-selling author Deborah Davis who spoke to a standing-room-only audience at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea about her new book, Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and his Black and White Ball.

Capote held a self-congratulatory celebration on November 28, 1966 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City, called The Black and White Ball. Still described as “the party of the century,” this spectacular bal masque, complete with a cast, costumes, a lavish set and enough drama and controversy to inspire unprecedented media coverage, became known as “Truman’s party.” It captured the attention of the world the moment it was announced, and remains a landmark in social history to this day.

Davis took guests back to the glamour of the 1960’s as she described details of the legendary evening, from Capote’s careful compilation of the guest list, and the now-famous black and white dress code, to the ball’s unconventional menu and décor, and the frenzied preparations leading up to the event. Guests of the lecture included Sandy and James "Buddy" Thompson; Sandy Krakoff; Candy Hamm; Tom Mathieu; Leslie Diver; Phil Whitacre; Nettie Finkle; Penny Murphy; Leslie Weintraub; Edie Cary; Mark Stevens; Katherine LaPlante; Maddy Singer; Fran Luckoff; Neil and Dr. Helen Garson; Erin Reich; and Layton Smith. Prior to the lecture, a book signing event was held at Classic Bookshop in Palm Beach.

Davis’ first book, Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X, appeared on the New York Times Extended Bestseller List and was a Book Sense Top Ten pick. Prior to writing Strapless, she worked as a story analyst at such companies as Warner Bros., Disney, Columbia Tri-Star, the William Morris Agency, Miramax, and Dustin Hoffman’s Punch

Productions. Early in her career, she was the associate editor of TRUE LOVE magazine, where she created and edited racy and romantic pulp fiction, including confession stories and serializations.

The Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s 2005 – 2006 lecture series is underwritten in part by Northern Trust Bank and Pioneer Linens. For more information, contact Kae Jonsons at (561) 832-4164, or visit www.historicalsocietypbc.org.

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