Turn of the World

As with her prior book King Lehr and the Gilded Age (1935), Lady Decies' Turn of the World (1937) is a fascinating semi-autobiographical history of American high society during the Gay Nineties through the first World War. Upon the book's publication, The Pittsburgh Press wrote, "The magnificent spectacle that went on behind the scenes in pre-war days of society's Gilded Age at Saratoga, Newport, New York and Paris is detailed by an insider, Elizabeth, Lady Decies, who was Miss Elizabeth Wharton Drexel interesting, amusing and sometimes revolting, as with evident nostalgia she tells of extravagant parties and fortunes spent for clothes and jewels."