Edited with obvious affection by her longtime assistant, Everett Bexley, this book seems intended as a toast to Reed, a beloved bon vivant and contributor to many publications, most recently Garden & Gun, where her reputation as the Nora Ephron of the South was cemented with a column, blog posts and podcasts delivered in her Scotch-soaked voice...But sadly, 'Dispatches From the Gilded Age' is only funny in patches, and goes on quite a bit longer than necessary...It’s less like a toast and more like one of those beribboned, overstuffed goody bags that get handed out at the end of certain parties (not Reed’s, where the only thing you walked away with, judging by her advice on hostessing, was the promise of a major hangover)...You’re pleased to get the bag, and there might be a thing or two in there you want, but there’s also plenty that you’re going to crumple up and throw away.
A selection of sparkling essays by a great Southern wit, foodie, fashionista, and prose stylist....Her decision not to mention her illness in this or any other essay that appeared in her long-running column in Garden and Gun recalls Nora Ephron, another seemingly candid but actually quite reserved personal essayist always ready with the bright, deflecting wisecrack...Similarly poignant are essays that touch on Reed’s friendship with André Leon Talley, the late Vogue editor at large and kindred spirit...There is life after death—at least for an essayist with this much verve on the page.
Garden & Gun columnist Reed, who died in 2020, profiles activists and artists, travels to exotic locales, and offers tart advice on food and fashion in this colorful essay collection spanning her 40-year career...Sharp and fearless, these essays are a fitting tribute to Reed’s life and career.
