A must read for any fan of the Edies Beale or Gray Gardens. Told from the point of view of their close friend and fellow artist when she was their houseguest, this book is a lovely look at the Beales' life at their famous home without the cameras rolling. ( )

I tried to get into the whole Beale thing, but I don't find them interesting as much as kind of pathetic. Oh, well. ( )

This tremendously quick read describes life at the East Hampton residence of Edith Beale, aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and her daughter, Little Edie. Lois Wright was a friend and moved into the house for a period of thirteen months. The book is written in a journal style and is quite easy to read. I would recommend seeing the Grey Gardens film first before reading; that way you can hear their voices as you read. Wright does a wonderful job in capturing the essence of the Beales.

I take away one star for typos as well as sentence structure. In the introduction, Wright tells us that she went back later and added things to her journal, and this shows. The "tense" of some of the sentences doesn't match.

That aside, this was a humorous read. Any fan of Grey Gardens and the Beales should add this to their collection! ( )

It took me the whole book to figure out why in the name of God Lois Wright would stay at Grey Gardens.
Then it hit me. It was the Edies. Plain and simple. ( )

I believe I'm beginning to get an unhealthy obsession with the Beales. My friend got me the documentary, Grey Gardens, for Christmas along with this book. I feel something familiar in the Beales.

Lois Wright spent 13 months at Grey Gardens with Big Edie and Little Edie, after having known them for quite a while. This book is basically her journal that she kept while she was there. For background, Big Edie and Little Edie are aunt and cousin, respectively, to Jackie O. They are part of the Bouvier family. Grey Gardens, the Beales house in East Hampton, became famous when the Maysles' did a documentary in 1976 (which is well worth viewing).

Grey Gardens is a run down home and Big Edie and Little Edie are the eccentric recluses that reside within. The home is run down enough that Wright is forced to wear a hat while walking in the house so she won't be hurt when rats or raccoons fall from the walls or ceilings. When, not if. The Beales do not have access to a lot of money so Jackie helps them out whenever possible.

I consider Wright a bit of a twit, myself, but then you would have to be somewhat twittish to live for over a year in Grey Gardens. This book does give you a little more background info than you get from the documentary and includes time surrounding Big Edie's death at age 81.

Read the book and see the movie. Both are pretty much worth the effort. ( )