THE LOVELY ONES :: Elsa Maxwell

Elsa Maxwell

(1883-1963)

Did you know.....

1. She was born on May 24, 1883 in Keokuk, Iowa

2. She was a gossip columnist, author, songwriter, and professional hostess extraordinaire renowned for orchestrating lavish parties for European royalty and American high society of her day.

3. She is noted as introducing the 'scavenger hunt' and 'treasure hunt' games into modern day party themes and bringing 'costume parties' back in style.

4. She wrote the screenplay for the 1939 film 'Hotel for Women' starring Ann Sothern.

5. She left school at 14 and earned a living as a theatre pianist.

6. Looking back on her life, she was quoted as saying "not bad, for a short, fat, homely piano player from Keokuk, Iowa, with no money or background, who decided to become a legend and did just that."

To learn more about the innovative Elsa Maxwell, Lily Lemontree recommends Inventing Elsa Maxwell: How an Irrepressible Nobody Conquered High Society, Hollywood, the Press, and the World