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Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend
A new biography of Bunny Mellon, the style icon and American aristocrat who designed the White House Rose Garden for her friend JFK and served as a living witness to 20th Century American history, operating in the high-level arenas of politics, diplomacy, art and fashion.
Bunny Mellon, who died in 2014 at age 103, was press-shy during her lifetime. With the co-operation of Bunny Mellon's family, author Meryl Gordon received access to thousands of pages of her letters, diaries and appointment calendars and has interviewed more than 175 people to capture the spirit of this talented American original.
Bunny Mellon, who died in 2014 at age 103, was press-shy during her lifetime. With the co-operation of Bunny Mellon's family, author Meryl Gordon received access to thousands of pages of her letters, diaries and appointment calendars and has interviewed more than 175 people to capture the spirit of this talented American original.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published September 26, 2017
680 people are currently reading
2533 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
September 10, 2017
In the mid- 1970s, I lived across Whitehaven Street (in D.C.) from Paul and Bunny Mellon. Bunny (I feel so strange calling her by her first name) invited me to Sunday lunch every so often. The walls in the dining room were full-on trompe l'oiel.. Soup was served in covered dishes shaped like little cabbages--more tromp l-oiel. The lunches lasted for hours and, eventually, spilled out into the perfectly manicured garden that somehow looked just a little bit wild.
Bunny was charming, refined and quiet. Paul was charming and gregarious. I was young and thrilled to be in the presence of such illuminati.
Thank you, Meryl Gordon, for providing a such an unvarnished (but tender) picture of Bunny--especially in her later, lonely years when she was so much involved with John Edwards' failed presidential campaign.
An excellent and well-researched book.
Bunny was charming, refined and quiet. Paul was charming and gregarious. I was young and thrilled to be in the presence of such illuminati.
Thank you, Meryl Gordon, for providing a such an unvarnished (but tender) picture of Bunny--especially in her later, lonely years when she was so much involved with John Edwards' failed presidential campaign.
An excellent and well-researched book.
June 4, 2019
3.6
Very well researched book. However, Bunny deserves no pedestal and using the label ‘American Style Icon’ is way too generous. She bought her influence and left a wake of bad relationships: bitter children and grandchildren, hurt friends, devious politicians and philandering husbands. There were few redeeming qualities in Bunny - though she seemed like a good gardener (is this really that special?) - and the wealth she squandered away was outstanding. What a wild life.
Very well researched book. However, Bunny deserves no pedestal and using the label ‘American Style Icon’ is way too generous. She bought her influence and left a wake of bad relationships: bitter children and grandchildren, hurt friends, devious politicians and philandering husbands. There were few redeeming qualities in Bunny - though she seemed like a good gardener (is this really that special?) - and the wealth she squandered away was outstanding. What a wild life.
March 10, 2018
This is one of those books that you miss after you have finished it. Don't know why I am drawn to this period of history - nor did I realize Bunny Mellon and Jackie Kennedy were such close friends.
This biography is quite thorough, well researched and fascinating. It is impossible to comprehend a life with SO much money! Bunny Mellon was gifted, eclectic and lived quite a long full life of great joy and great tragedy. Meryl Gordon did a superb job with this one - enough to send me to her previous books.
This biography is quite thorough, well researched and fascinating. It is impossible to comprehend a life with SO much money! Bunny Mellon was gifted, eclectic and lived quite a long full life of great joy and great tragedy. Meryl Gordon did a superb job with this one - enough to send me to her previous books.
October 23, 2017
OK- Read, half of it. OMG so much detail and description of everyone who has met Bunny, Paul, or her ex husband.......I had to stop reading- I got as far as the rose garden. Bunny was an interesting person who came of age during a time of great progress. Good read, if you can devote a lot of time.
July 9, 2018
What kind of person goes through life answering to the name of "Bunny"? Old-money rich white women from the Eastern Seaboard. Every once in awhile I like to torture myself by reading books about women who are just like me except for one difference: they are swimming in money from birth to death.
Bunny Mellon's dad made his money off Listerene, after he promoted it as a cure for halitosis, a thing which had previously not been mentioned in advertisement. And Bunny increased her original fortune by marrying wealthy men. The reason I was interested in reading this book in the first place is because I have seen her name and her husband's name in countless art museums all over the world, as in "on loan from the collection of Paul and Bunny Mellon" or "donated by Paul and Bunny Mellon".
I wish I could have learned the whole story but every time I tried to read the book I nodded off. Bunny's hobby from childhood was gardening and designing gardens. She, in fact, designed the rose garden at the white house at the request of JFK. And became good friends with Jackie Kennedy for life.
My one-star rating is no reflection on the author or Bunny. It's just that I couldn't get past the blandness of the descriptions of a life spent gardening and collecting art. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading this and I may pick it up again someday, pop a few no-doz and dig in again.
Bunny Mellon's dad made his money off Listerene, after he promoted it as a cure for halitosis, a thing which had previously not been mentioned in advertisement. And Bunny increased her original fortune by marrying wealthy men. The reason I was interested in reading this book in the first place is because I have seen her name and her husband's name in countless art museums all over the world, as in "on loan from the collection of Paul and Bunny Mellon" or "donated by Paul and Bunny Mellon".
I wish I could have learned the whole story but every time I tried to read the book I nodded off. Bunny's hobby from childhood was gardening and designing gardens. She, in fact, designed the rose garden at the white house at the request of JFK. And became good friends with Jackie Kennedy for life.
My one-star rating is no reflection on the author or Bunny. It's just that I couldn't get past the blandness of the descriptions of a life spent gardening and collecting art. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading this and I may pick it up again someday, pop a few no-doz and dig in again.
December 15, 2017
I have to first give credit to Meryl Gordon for creating such a well-researched and well-written book. I also appreciate she approached the ugly side of the rose and let us see the thorns. Bunny. Such a harmless name. So....bucolic. She grew up wealthy, she made sure she married wealth, then left her husband for even greater wealth. She was an unchecked spender. Even her generous husband bemoaned her habits, but didn't try to stop them. You could almost predict in leaving her that estate without trustees in place, or some boundaries, that she would cheat her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. One grandson was flat out treated abusively from birth, other than this grand "lady" decided she didn't like the cut of his jib in the hospital nursery. I could go on and on, and intended to, but to what end? I always heard what great friends Jacqueline Kennedy was with the Grand Lapin. More calculations. More scheming. Takes one to know one. And Caroline Kennedy? I love the little charmer at ten declaring Mellon should be her new(er) godparent, and continue to be hovering around into adulthood, but it always reads "playing with Mummy's rubies" mindset. Greed, greed, greed. Great wealth does not make for easy sleep. Grand, unchecked wealth does not a good friend make. Luckily, most of her family struck out on their own, knowing full well what would happen....and it did. Brooke Astor was another one. I think of her pink granite tomb out in those woods. Hopefully, the stone has rent a huge crack, and no one to see it. There has to be a special level of hell for these women.
August 26, 2025
Journalist Meryl Gordon became acquainted with American socialite Bunny Mellon (1910-2014) toward the end of Mellon's life, and Gordon's exhaustive (528 page book/18 hour audiobook) biography of Mellon was published in 2017.
This was a DNF at 61% (10 hrs 44 min) of the audiobook for me. I personally didn't find Mellon compelling or noteworthy enough to continue listening. Mellon is best known for designing the White House's rose garden and for her close friendship with former US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Bunny Mellon was born Rachel Lambert in a rich family, married down somewhat, then left her first husband to chase after the super-rich Paul Mellon once his first wife (and her friend) died prematurely. Mellon was known for her lavish lifestyle, lavish parties, lavish house, lavish expenses, etc. Definitely style over substance.
Further reading: biographies of more interesting women of that era
Kingmaker: Pamela Churchill Harriman's astonishing life of seduction, intrigue and power by Sonia Purnell | my review - definitely an overreaching biography, but these two ran in similar social circles
Becoming Elizabeth Arden: The Woman Behind the Global Beauty Empire by Stacy Cordery | my review
My statistics:
Book 268 for 2025
Book 2194 cumulatively
This was a DNF at 61% (10 hrs 44 min) of the audiobook for me. I personally didn't find Mellon compelling or noteworthy enough to continue listening. Mellon is best known for designing the White House's rose garden and for her close friendship with former US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Bunny Mellon was born Rachel Lambert in a rich family, married down somewhat, then left her first husband to chase after the super-rich Paul Mellon once his first wife (and her friend) died prematurely. Mellon was known for her lavish lifestyle, lavish parties, lavish house, lavish expenses, etc. Definitely style over substance.
Further reading: biographies of more interesting women of that era
Kingmaker: Pamela Churchill Harriman's astonishing life of seduction, intrigue and power by Sonia Purnell | my review - definitely an overreaching biography, but these two ran in similar social circles
Becoming Elizabeth Arden: The Woman Behind the Global Beauty Empire by Stacy Cordery | my review
My statistics:
Book 268 for 2025
Book 2194 cumulatively
January 12, 2018
The author was very nice to Bunny, and her husband, and she portrayed them kindly, which I suppose is the best way to do this.
The bottom line is, Bunny was super mean, for no reason, to her son, and one of her grandsons.
If you read the book, you will see a very accurate account of narcissism, abetted by (current market value) the Mellons billions.
Gardening alone doesn't excuse how she treated some of her progeny.
It is a really good book in that there is so much detail, you will able to draw your own conclusions.
The bottom line is, Bunny was super mean, for no reason, to her son, and one of her grandsons.
If you read the book, you will see a very accurate account of narcissism, abetted by (current market value) the Mellons billions.
Gardening alone doesn't excuse how she treated some of her progeny.
It is a really good book in that there is so much detail, you will able to draw your own conclusions.
October 23, 2017
Maybe I'm a voyeur, but I was totally fascinated by this biography of Bunny Mellon, the very rich lady whom we knew so little about. In spite of her millions, I think she led a very lonely life, always looking for love. I would love to visit some of her gardens and take in her great talent. My heart is sad for her and the many tragedies I. Her life, especially the tragedy that befell her daughter Eliza.
July 14, 2019
I have long been enamored with historical uber-wealthy style legends so I picked this up when I saw it at Barnes & Noble. It's an interesting look at how the .001% lived back in the day. This is like a super-long Vanity Fair article (not a bad thing!).
Ms. Mellon was a woman of contradictions:
- she "had a habit of dropping people without explanation," (p. 21) sometimes after decades of friendship, yet could write the loveliest of notes and letters to those in her orbit (see the letters she wrote to Jackie Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy on what would have been JFK's 47th birthday, p. 231)
- she tried "to be a lady" but "could swear like a sailor" (p. 60)
- dumped her lovely first husband for Paul Mellon, yet kept up a lifelong correspondence with him and kept on the down-low regular lunches with him, just to keep in touch
- she was incredibly generous to those she favored, yet shut out three orphaned three minor children following their parents' 1967 deaths in an airplane crash (these were children of Paul's sister's daughter). Mr. Mellon gave the nine-year-old the name of his banker. p. 247. Contrast that with the Mellon's lifetime donation of $300M for scholarship and matriculation programs benefiting minorities (p. 258)
She could be downright cruel and manipulative:
- she spoiled one grandson, Stacy, while ignoring the other, Thomas, for no reason (p. 324)
- she had given [her grandson] Tim a ceramic cabbage, which he smashed to bits out of frustration with her; Ms. Mellon pointedly left him in her will only a ceramic cabbage
- when she built yet another family house, she did not include a room for one of her two sons, instead putting him in an outbuilding, away from the rest of the family (p. 164)
- she "gave" a son and daughter-in-law a house, but never put it in their names, retaining ownership of it. She gave her two children large checks each year, "creating an ongoing dependence." This manipulation was a factor in the breakup of her children's marriages. (p. 325)
- Upon learning of the birth of her granddaughter named Fiona, she replied that she didn't like the name Fiona and planned to call the girl Lucy. (p. 414)
File under "the super rich are NOT just like us!":
- the Mellons employed household staff of 200+ (p. 145)
- Ms. Mellon employed a social secretary to keep up with all of her charitable and social obligations (p. 148)
- Ms. Mellon annually ordered from Balenciaga everything she wore, including her lingerie and her gardening attire, at an annual cost equivalent to $1M today (pp. 153, 253)
- Ms. Mellon threw her daughter a 1961 debutante party that cost the equivalent of $8M today -- a party her daughter didn't want (p. 198-199)
- by 1963 the Mellons were purchasing hundreds of paintings and hired a curator to catalog their collection; it took the curator two years to catch up (p. 217)
-"She instructed her kitchen staff that when they opened a bag of Lay's potato chips, they were to take out the broken pieces before serving the snack to company." (p. 300)
- "Months had been spent constructing a handsome space that had been used for roughly three hours [while hosting Princess Diana and Prince Charles for lunch in 1985]," then it was all torn down. This involved removing a wall of the house and adding a huge space to accommodate this crowd. (p. 333)
- in the 1980s, Mr. Mellon *faxed* his breakfast order to the kitchen staff each morning (p. 362)
- "In her nightly phone calls with [North Carolina decorator] Bryan Huffman, who was scheduled to testify at the [John Edwards campaign finance] trial, she raised the fanciful possibility that they were both in legal jeopardy. As Huffman recalls, one night she gushed on the phone: 'Bryan, just imagine, if we go to jail for this we could get cells next to each other and do them so attractively. Very spare, attractive, and warm, we could talk through the bars." (p. 438)
She took such an instant and deep dislike to Richard Nixon during the 1960 presidential race that she became a Democrat for the rest of her life. (p. 189)
Ultimately, she was isolated and lonely, by design.
- "'She thought most people were there because of the influence she wielded or what they could get from her. She enjoyed special friendships, but I would say that she was a lonely person, some of it self-inflicted. She chose to be a loner.'" Beverly Newton, a psychic with whom Ms. Mellon was friends for more than 30 years. (p. 314) Indeed, "this family's failure to form lasting relationships was striking. Both Bunny's parents and Paul's parents divorced; Bunny and her two siblings all divorced; and all four of the Mellon and Lloyd children had torn up wedding certificates." (p. 325)
- She had very few women friends and didn't seem very interested in women generally. For example, she refused to meet Elizabeth Edwards at the same time that she fawned over John Edwards. As Ms. Mellon's personal attorney of 40+ years put it, "She didn't like wives." (p. 407) At the same time, she took such a liking to FBI agent Barry Stuber, in charge of investigating the funds routed to support Rielle Hunter, that "she added him to her list of male telephone buddies, chatting periodically about their disparate lives." (p. 425)
Finally, there is a detailed look at Ms. Mellon's close friendship with Jackie Kennedy. Ms. Mellon had few close women friends, preferring male companionship, yet these two women had much in common: fathers they loved, mothers they held at a distance, adulterous husbands, loneliness, and a need for discretion and privacy. (p. 182)
Well worth reading.
Ms. Mellon was a woman of contradictions:
- she "had a habit of dropping people without explanation," (p. 21) sometimes after decades of friendship, yet could write the loveliest of notes and letters to those in her orbit (see the letters she wrote to Jackie Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy on what would have been JFK's 47th birthday, p. 231)
- she tried "to be a lady" but "could swear like a sailor" (p. 60)
- dumped her lovely first husband for Paul Mellon, yet kept up a lifelong correspondence with him and kept on the down-low regular lunches with him, just to keep in touch
- she was incredibly generous to those she favored, yet shut out three orphaned three minor children following their parents' 1967 deaths in an airplane crash (these were children of Paul's sister's daughter). Mr. Mellon gave the nine-year-old the name of his banker. p. 247. Contrast that with the Mellon's lifetime donation of $300M for scholarship and matriculation programs benefiting minorities (p. 258)
She could be downright cruel and manipulative:
- she spoiled one grandson, Stacy, while ignoring the other, Thomas, for no reason (p. 324)
- she had given [her grandson] Tim a ceramic cabbage, which he smashed to bits out of frustration with her; Ms. Mellon pointedly left him in her will only a ceramic cabbage
- when she built yet another family house, she did not include a room for one of her two sons, instead putting him in an outbuilding, away from the rest of the family (p. 164)
- she "gave" a son and daughter-in-law a house, but never put it in their names, retaining ownership of it. She gave her two children large checks each year, "creating an ongoing dependence." This manipulation was a factor in the breakup of her children's marriages. (p. 325)
- Upon learning of the birth of her granddaughter named Fiona, she replied that she didn't like the name Fiona and planned to call the girl Lucy. (p. 414)
File under "the super rich are NOT just like us!":
- the Mellons employed household staff of 200+ (p. 145)
- Ms. Mellon employed a social secretary to keep up with all of her charitable and social obligations (p. 148)
- Ms. Mellon annually ordered from Balenciaga everything she wore, including her lingerie and her gardening attire, at an annual cost equivalent to $1M today (pp. 153, 253)
- Ms. Mellon threw her daughter a 1961 debutante party that cost the equivalent of $8M today -- a party her daughter didn't want (p. 198-199)
- by 1963 the Mellons were purchasing hundreds of paintings and hired a curator to catalog their collection; it took the curator two years to catch up (p. 217)
-"She instructed her kitchen staff that when they opened a bag of Lay's potato chips, they were to take out the broken pieces before serving the snack to company." (p. 300)
- "Months had been spent constructing a handsome space that had been used for roughly three hours [while hosting Princess Diana and Prince Charles for lunch in 1985]," then it was all torn down. This involved removing a wall of the house and adding a huge space to accommodate this crowd. (p. 333)
- in the 1980s, Mr. Mellon *faxed* his breakfast order to the kitchen staff each morning (p. 362)
- "In her nightly phone calls with [North Carolina decorator] Bryan Huffman, who was scheduled to testify at the [John Edwards campaign finance] trial, she raised the fanciful possibility that they were both in legal jeopardy. As Huffman recalls, one night she gushed on the phone: 'Bryan, just imagine, if we go to jail for this we could get cells next to each other and do them so attractively. Very spare, attractive, and warm, we could talk through the bars." (p. 438)
She took such an instant and deep dislike to Richard Nixon during the 1960 presidential race that she became a Democrat for the rest of her life. (p. 189)
Ultimately, she was isolated and lonely, by design.
- "'She thought most people were there because of the influence she wielded or what they could get from her. She enjoyed special friendships, but I would say that she was a lonely person, some of it self-inflicted. She chose to be a loner.'" Beverly Newton, a psychic with whom Ms. Mellon was friends for more than 30 years. (p. 314) Indeed, "this family's failure to form lasting relationships was striking. Both Bunny's parents and Paul's parents divorced; Bunny and her two siblings all divorced; and all four of the Mellon and Lloyd children had torn up wedding certificates." (p. 325)
- She had very few women friends and didn't seem very interested in women generally. For example, she refused to meet Elizabeth Edwards at the same time that she fawned over John Edwards. As Ms. Mellon's personal attorney of 40+ years put it, "She didn't like wives." (p. 407) At the same time, she took such a liking to FBI agent Barry Stuber, in charge of investigating the funds routed to support Rielle Hunter, that "she added him to her list of male telephone buddies, chatting periodically about their disparate lives." (p. 425)
Finally, there is a detailed look at Ms. Mellon's close friendship with Jackie Kennedy. Ms. Mellon had few close women friends, preferring male companionship, yet these two women had much in common: fathers they loved, mothers they held at a distance, adulterous husbands, loneliness, and a need for discretion and privacy. (p. 182)
Well worth reading.
November 27, 2024
I had to take my time reading Bunny’s epic life story, bookended in American politics, costarring the Kennedys and John Edwards. After the election results, it felt nice to live in a world when politics was dramatic and scandalous but with sophistication, style and class.
January 2, 2023
I have to give four stars mainly to the author in appreciation of her research and wealth of interview source material. It is obvious a lot of time, care, and consideration for the family’s response went into writing this.
I’d give two stars to the subject though as a person. Though Gordon strives to take an observational or neutral tone in her portrayal of Bunny Mellon, she respectfully allows the reader to draw their own conclusions. My conclusion is that Bunny Mellon was indeed a talented gardener and purveyor of design style. I think her calling her a “style icon” is a stretch. Her decorating style wasn’t ground breaking and she ended up coming across as a bored socialite needing to redesign or buy something to occupy her mind. She also had obscene wealth which despite all her philanthropy, couldn’t erase her selfish and poor treatment of people in her life. How she treated people once they had served their purpose to her was cruel and capricious. I was amazed how polite many of those interviewed were regarding their feelings when she abruptly cut contact over her perceived slight or she found someone more interesting to take their place.
Bunny Mellon’s place in U.S. history is an interesting one. She had a front row seat in politics due to her husband’s money and her friendship with Jackie Kennedy. The process of designing the White House Rose Garden was a part of the book I did enjoy. No doubt, Mellon was an insanely talented self taught gardener. I loved to read about her love of plants, food growing, and nature. But the dichotomy in sending her private jet with surpluses from her garden to friends was appalling. Or sending said jet back to Florida to retrieve a forgotten scarf equally appalling.
I appreciated learning about a world of wealth I wouldn’t be able to attain. But the vicarious luxury lost its luster when I realize the height of the careless and selfish behavior her set subscribes to. Call her an eccentric old lady but I’m guessing her money bought her that title compared to other choice words.
I’d give two stars to the subject though as a person. Though Gordon strives to take an observational or neutral tone in her portrayal of Bunny Mellon, she respectfully allows the reader to draw their own conclusions. My conclusion is that Bunny Mellon was indeed a talented gardener and purveyor of design style. I think her calling her a “style icon” is a stretch. Her decorating style wasn’t ground breaking and she ended up coming across as a bored socialite needing to redesign or buy something to occupy her mind. She also had obscene wealth which despite all her philanthropy, couldn’t erase her selfish and poor treatment of people in her life. How she treated people once they had served their purpose to her was cruel and capricious. I was amazed how polite many of those interviewed were regarding their feelings when she abruptly cut contact over her perceived slight or she found someone more interesting to take their place.
Bunny Mellon’s place in U.S. history is an interesting one. She had a front row seat in politics due to her husband’s money and her friendship with Jackie Kennedy. The process of designing the White House Rose Garden was a part of the book I did enjoy. No doubt, Mellon was an insanely talented self taught gardener. I loved to read about her love of plants, food growing, and nature. But the dichotomy in sending her private jet with surpluses from her garden to friends was appalling. Or sending said jet back to Florida to retrieve a forgotten scarf equally appalling.
I appreciated learning about a world of wealth I wouldn’t be able to attain. But the vicarious luxury lost its luster when I realize the height of the careless and selfish behavior her set subscribes to. Call her an eccentric old lady but I’m guessing her money bought her that title compared to other choice words.
January 15, 2018
This book was a long and pretentious as the life of Bunny Mellon.
Reading about the way she and her husband wasted millions (billions) of dollars on artwork, private planes, homes and parties made me sick. And in the end no real happiness.
I only gave it two stars because I thought the John Edwards connection was interesting.
Reading about the way she and her husband wasted millions (billions) of dollars on artwork, private planes, homes and parties made me sick. And in the end no real happiness.
I only gave it two stars because I thought the John Edwards connection was interesting.
May 8, 2018
If you enjoy reading about rich people, how much money they have, how many houses they have, how much jewelry they have, and how much original artwork they have, then this book is for you. I had a hard time reading it.
June 26, 2018
Too much about nothing
August 13, 2018
I just can’t finish this book. I can’t believe I read half already. Bunny Mellon is the most boring biographical subject I’ve ever had the pleasure to never have met.
October 30, 2017
The author did a very thorough job of researching Ms. Mellon, but it seemed researched to the point of being full of contradictions. Bunny was a sweet, insecure loving person who flew a rock as a gift to someone, yet she had a habit of just tossing people out of her lives and they were fine with it? If someone tosses me out of their life, I am NOT fine with it! Chalking it up to "that's just how she was" doesn't make me see her as a kind insecure person, it makes me see her as a narcissist who tosses people out of her life when she feels they have nothing more to offer her. She wasn't about status, yet she owned millions in jewelry and carried a president's wife as her latest accessory? Someone in the book was quoted as saying she didn't like things perfect to the point that she carried scissors around with her.... I certainly hope she only used them on her own things! She also was described as a person who liked being around old worn out things, yet her lifestyle costs 20 million per year? As you read, watch for the contradictions. I closed the book not knowing if she was really a sweet insecure person or the queen bee narcissist that everyone had to bow to. Dear friends: If you are a billionaire and gift me a rock, I will not talk lovingly about it...it's a rock.
As for the author, like I said above, the book is well researched. It can be a bit tedious at times because of all the details, but isn't that what you read a biography for?
As for the author, like I said above, the book is well researched. It can be a bit tedious at times because of all the details, but isn't that what you read a biography for?
July 23, 2024
This is pretty much a biography of Jane Austen's Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Bunny Mellon cared most about titles, status, and her own concept of "nature." She's referred to here many times as a "nature lover," but in truth she cared more about controlling nature than she did about the natural world. Bunny literally moved hillsides and dunes to get the views she wanted for her bedroom windows, and created a topiary trend, perhaps the ultimate symbol of mankind's dominion over plants.
Bunny paid careful attention to everything around her, except the feelings of her family members and friends. She preferred to drop her first husband, Stacy Lloyd, in favor of Paul Mellon simply for money and the title of "Mrs. Mellon." She dropped dear friends for no reason at all, and played favorites with her grandsons, even going so far as to try and get her dis-favored grandson to re-name his newborn daughter in the hopes of coming into Granny's good graces finally.
Bunny Mellon is lucky to have had such a sympathetic and deferential biographer in Meryl Gordon. Ms. Gordon chose to view her subject's actions in the most positive light possible while avoiding critical analysis as much as she could.
The truth is, Bunny was a selfish woman who bought loyalty and "love" with money. The only thing she really loved couldn't love her back: her gardens.
Bunny paid careful attention to everything around her, except the feelings of her family members and friends. She preferred to drop her first husband, Stacy Lloyd, in favor of Paul Mellon simply for money and the title of "Mrs. Mellon." She dropped dear friends for no reason at all, and played favorites with her grandsons, even going so far as to try and get her dis-favored grandson to re-name his newborn daughter in the hopes of coming into Granny's good graces finally.
Bunny Mellon is lucky to have had such a sympathetic and deferential biographer in Meryl Gordon. Ms. Gordon chose to view her subject's actions in the most positive light possible while avoiding critical analysis as much as she could.
The truth is, Bunny was a selfish woman who bought loyalty and "love" with money. The only thing she really loved couldn't love her back: her gardens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2019
An intriguing look inside the life of Bunny Mellon shared from her private journals and letters.
I won a copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway. I am under no obligation to leave a review or rating and do so voluntarily. So that others may also enjoy this book, I am paying it forward by donating it to my local library.
I won a copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway. I am under no obligation to leave a review or rating and do so voluntarily. So that others may also enjoy this book, I am paying it forward by donating it to my local library.
December 31, 2023
This book was less about bunny and more about the crappy men in her life. It was beautifully researched but ultimately quite sad.
June 10, 2022
Bunny Mellon the life of a style legend was a good book. I really enjoyed the characters. The book told the story of bunny Mellon and the way she envisioned what life was about.
July 6, 2020
Meryl Gordon does as good a job as possible, given that the subject is boring. The book starts out well and I was riveted while learning about the auction of Bunny Mellon’s worldly possessions. Midway through I became bored by descriptions of her spending, and by the last part of this biography I was downright angry. Sure, Mellon was an intimate of some interesting people, Jackie Kennedy, etc. Mostly she advised these friends about garden arrangements or bought jewelry or clothes from them. I began asking myself if it might be more interesting to read a bio on any one of these people instead of this one. I’ll try another of Gordon’s biographies because she is an excellent writer.
March 17, 2023
I love books but this story would have been better as a long Atlantic article - a ton of detail that doesn’t really match the scope of the events described. However! It did became almost meditative, sinking into the details and just being immersed in Bunny’s world. I think this would be a great fit for someone looking to get lost in a book for a long time (a long, long, long time), which wasn’t me, so I felt a little frustrated. Still amazing writing though, and an excellent caliber of research.
October 16, 2017
a treasury of memories
ten thousand books in seven houses collected in a 103 year lifetime filled with precious gardens and a private plane to oversee them all. great details about a wonderful friendship with jacqueline k.o. essentially new insights and meaning on an extraordinary life.
ten thousand books in seven houses collected in a 103 year lifetime filled with precious gardens and a private plane to oversee them all. great details about a wonderful friendship with jacqueline k.o. essentially new insights and meaning on an extraordinary life.
October 17, 2017
I'd give this 3.5. Bunny was a very insecure and talented woman who loved flowers and botany. Her life is proof that money cannot buy happiness. It is impossible to understand a life with so much money and the extravagant spending.
January 18, 2019
A view into how the upper 1% live. It’s all about who you know and how you make connections and how you can spend your money. Interesting life story of the woman who designed the Rose Garden for JFK but lots of name dropping and too much materialism for my taste.
Want to read
September 6, 2017
October 22, 2017
I can’t say enough about Gordon’s meticulous research which evolves into a wonderful read. Her book about Hugette Clark was masterful, Bunny Mellon is even better.
February 8, 2019
I hardly expected to give this book 5 stars. I had read a previous book on Brooke Astor by this author many years ago and really enjoyed it, but did not expect the life of Bunny Mellon to be so interesting to me. But the way the author combined facts, history and empathy for the characters kept me very fascinated and quite riveted.
Bunny Mellon lived a life of privilege most of us can only (barely) imagine. She was from a wealthy family herself, and had a fraught relationship with her pretty sister, as her father showed special attention to her. She was not allowed to continue her education and go to college, rather encouraged to devote herself to getting married. She felt the lack of going to college all of her life. Her first marriage was a love match, and she had two children with him. But Bunny wasn't much for child-rearing, leaving that job to the many nannies and nurses. This left her children starving for her affection. Bunny developed a lasting relationship with Jackie Kennedy, and she used her superlative horticultural skills to design the Rose Garden at the White House. Her first marriage fell apart and she set her sights on Paul Mellon. With this marriage, Bunny segued from being "merely" wealthy to enjoying unimaginable Mellon family wealth. The descriptions of how they lived in their many homes is fascinating.
Bunny died at 103 years old, and her last years were spent in support of John Edwards. She developed rather a crush on him (one of many young, handsome men she would have intense relationships with throughout her life), and donated millions of dollars to his campaign. These donations became intensely scrutinized in the wake of Edward's scandal that ended his candidacy.
This was a very well-written and quite an interesting biography of an ultra-rich, talented woman who fraternized with many powerful people, and a tale of the times she lived in.
Bunny Mellon lived a life of privilege most of us can only (barely) imagine. She was from a wealthy family herself, and had a fraught relationship with her pretty sister, as her father showed special attention to her. She was not allowed to continue her education and go to college, rather encouraged to devote herself to getting married. She felt the lack of going to college all of her life. Her first marriage was a love match, and she had two children with him. But Bunny wasn't much for child-rearing, leaving that job to the many nannies and nurses. This left her children starving for her affection. Bunny developed a lasting relationship with Jackie Kennedy, and she used her superlative horticultural skills to design the Rose Garden at the White House. Her first marriage fell apart and she set her sights on Paul Mellon. With this marriage, Bunny segued from being "merely" wealthy to enjoying unimaginable Mellon family wealth. The descriptions of how they lived in their many homes is fascinating.
Bunny died at 103 years old, and her last years were spent in support of John Edwards. She developed rather a crush on him (one of many young, handsome men she would have intense relationships with throughout her life), and donated millions of dollars to his campaign. These donations became intensely scrutinized in the wake of Edward's scandal that ended his candidacy.
This was a very well-written and quite an interesting biography of an ultra-rich, talented woman who fraternized with many powerful people, and a tale of the times she lived in.
October 10, 2018
4.5 stars, really. I found this to be a fascinating biography of a fascinating life. Bunny Mellon’s cold-heartedness (almost cruelty) at times was a lot to take, and that’s where my half-star is lost, but that’s not the author’s fault. (And I suppose to be human is to be flawed...though I think a bit more kindness would have been a good thing in her life....) In the end, I found this an inspiring read—if I had that kind of money, I’d also hope to spend it on art, antiques, books, and gardens!
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