The Mansions of Limbo

by Dominick Dunne

Bestselling author Dominick Dunne, who chronicles the escapades, excesses, and eccentricities of high society for Vanity Fair, offers fifteen provocative portraits of some of the most luminous figures of the decade . . . profiles of the movie legend who remains the only divorced wife of a U.S. president; the pretty singing star who fell in love with a notorious mobster; the brilliant photographer who took Dunne's picture weeks before succumbing to AIDS . . . sketches that detail the lavish wedding-that-never-was between an heiress and a counterfeit prince; the incarceration of a high-flying financier; and the brutal slaying of a film mogul and his sife, allegedly by their own two sons. Filled with pathos and wit and the twenty-four-carat insight of a society insider, The Mansions of Limbo offers a peek into a rarified world there nothing is ever enough.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, True Crime, Crime, Celebrity, Essays

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Dominick Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways high society interacts with the judiciary system. He was a producer in Hollywood and is also known from his frequent appearances on television.

After his studies at Williams College and service in World War II, Dunne moved to New York, then to Hollywood, where he directed Playhouse 90 and became vice president of Four Star Pictures. He hobnobbed with the rich and the famous of those days. In 1979, he left Hollywood, moved to Oregon, and wrote his first book, The Winners. In November 1982, his actress daughter, Dominique Dunne, was murdered. Dunne attended the trial of her murderer (John Thomas Sweeney) and subsequently wrote Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Stories

Tidbits about the rich and famous. Well researched. These are from the 80s and 90s but still interesting. Stumbled across this in the library while looking up books about old Hollywood

[RNOCEAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dominick Dunne has met them all--stars and slugs, criminals and victims, the innocent and the hideously guilty--and now his two provocative collections of Vanity Fair portraits are in one irresistible volume. From posh Park Avenue duplexes to the extravagant mansions of Beverly Hills, from tasteful London town houses to the wild excesses of million-dollar European retreats, here are the movers and shakers--and the people who pretend to be.
Among colorful profiles and revealing glimpses of Elizabeth Taylor, Claus von Bülow, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Aaron Spelling, discover who dumped an heiress the night before the wedding to run off with the best man . . . what happens when the ex-husband of a movie legend becomes president . . . why a beautiful singer fell in with the mob . . . and, in Dunne's most personal story, how a lying murderer and a limelight-loving judge denied justice to his family after his daughter's life was brutally destroyed.
Filled with pathos and wit, insight and sass, this candid, controversial volume gives you an extraordinary peek into the rarefied world of the rich, the royal, and the ruined. For Dunne is the man who knows all their secrets--and now those secrets are out.


****Rate this 4/5 as I enjoyed Fatal Charms more. I have to now anticipate Dominick's last book which will be released in December called "It's Only Money" It will the last book I read of his because I have read everyone ever published. I will dearly miss this author's writing!

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Dunne's Vanity Fair articles from the 1980's about the top 1% of the 1%. I love Dominic Dunne and how he was both an insider and an outsider in Hollywood and "high society." He had a way of ensuring you knew the truth and how he felt about the truth when you read between the lines.

[E.J. Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always interesting reading this little, likable gadfly and his take on celebrity crime.

[Jeff Clausen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mishmash of stories from his Vanity Fair output, with widely varying readability for me. At his worst, he writes of people that lead chaotic or wasteful lives, as he relies on gossip for his sources. Constant references to unheard-of royalty are off-putting to me—‘Baroness so-and-so attended the party with her latest husband, the former CEO of Exxon that left when his impregnated secretary found his love letters to the Baroness, my dinner companion whispered after telling me I can not use her name.’ Some essays are thankfully written in the first-person, such as the trials of the Menendez brothers and O.J. Simpson. These are not free from the gossipy style, but are somewhat more relatable. Depending on your tolerance for the tales of rich and infamous folks, this may be fascinating, or cringy.

[Agnes Fells · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happened to watch an impressive documentary about Mr Dunne . That same evening I ordered this book and even though it’s not my style of reading material. I was intrigued with how time and time again wealthily folks truly believe they are above the law. The celebrities Dunne wrote about in this volume are victims of fame and fortune without any knowledge or wisdom of the true meaning of life, love, sharing and caring. They are motivated by greed , revenge , $$$$$ and power. It’s sad that people with $$$$$ don’t share with the less fortunate and show gratitude for the life they’ve been blessed with.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous book! All the books I have read by Mr. Dunne are superb. He was a truly talented writer and had access to so many social circles that made it possible to tell us these stories. That being said, he would not have had the access if he wasn't trusted and respected by those he surrounded himself with. I want more, more, more. I think he is one of the truly great writers of our time.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was gossipy. It was interesting. I read Dunne's "The Two Mrs Grenvilles", so I knew it would be about the American high society - New York society. A light read, but worth it if you like to escape to where the un-mundane dish their dirt.

[Marygay Merritt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Dunne’s writing and have read most of his books. However, not being a fan of reading about the lives of rich people I’ve never heard of, I didn’t love this one. The section about Jane Wyman was semi- interesting, but, frankly, I could have passed on this book.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a series of magazine articles. The appeal of each chapter can be solely based on the reader's interest in the subject and what was news in the 80's. It is all rather bland so many years on.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Even though rather dated now in 2024, since it was first published in 1991, I still enjoyed this book. I thought the writing style was good, and the subject matter very interesting. Who doesn't want the dirt on the rich & famous?

[Maria Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A greatly written book, mainly the facts as the author she's them.

I like his style of writing and always try to read his articles. I'm a fan of all his books.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2009

[Cat G · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a time…!

[Jolette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very outdated, but fun.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Dominick Dunne and have read nearly all of his books. His column in Vanity Fair is my favorite part of the magazine, but this is actually the least interesting of his books I have read, maybe because many of the people are unknown to me. It was written in the 80's. Sometimes I wonder if I was even alive then, because it was all a huge blur. . .

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays that Dominick Dunne wrote for "Vanity Fair" magazine in the late 80s thru the beginning of the 90s. Depending on whether I had heard of the subject of each essay or not, the book alternately held and lost my interest. I have enjoyed Dunne's novels a lot more than this book, however.

**#35 of 120 books pledged to read/review during 2017**

[Antonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Dominic Dunne's writing in Vanity Fair Magazine. The Mansions of Limbo is a series of vignettes; stories of the rich, famous and infamous filled with Dunn'e usual "juicy" details.It is an entertaining read.It is much like reading a series of his articles from the magazine.

[Vikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were little essays on the very rich. True stories and interesting.

[CatBookMom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great international society gossip stories from the late 1980s and very early 1990s. Even though no longer current (like the Menendez murders case, up to the point of arrest), they're still juicy.