This past weekend I went to Long Island for the first time. Being from New Jersey, this felt a little strange - not only had I never been there, I admit I have never really thought much about my 118 mile neighbour. When asked if there was anything in particular I wanted to see, I only had one point of reference, an old mansion in East Hampton, so that’s how I found myself ogling Grey Gardens last Saturday. Grey Gardens occupies a place in the imagination of everyone who knows its story. During the Great Depression, it was known for its extravagant parties - not quite on the level the neighbouring fictional Gatsby Mansion was supposed to have, but not far off. It was owned by Phelan and Edith Beale (Big Edie, from now on); she, a singer and an aunt to future First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwell; he, a lawyer at her family’s firm. It was the idyllic life of the American upper crust - lots of money, a house in the Hamptons, and a brood of...
Malcolm Coates