Meryl Gordon's "The Phantom of Fifth Avenue"

Meryl Gordon is the author of The Phantom of Fifth Avenue, as well as the author of Mrs Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of A Family Beyond Approach. She is an award-winning journalist and a regular contributor to Vanity Fair.

Gordon applied the “Page 99 Test” to The Phantom of Fifth Avenue and reported the following:

By the luck of the draw, Page 99 of The Phantom of Fifth Avenue marks the beginning of one of the most pivotal scenes in my book, leading up to the death of Huguette Clark's older sister Andree in 1918. Huguette was only 13 at the time and she was haunted by her sister's death for the remainder of her life. I was able to read Andree's and Huguette's diaries, plus family letters right before and after the death -- I teared up while reading these yellowing documents, it was so sad.

Visit Meryl Gordon's website.

See: Meryl Gordon's five best chronicles of high society.

--Marshal Zeringue