A witty and informative guide to literature’s best parties by London’s most brilliant party planner
A Curious Invitation
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"In A Curious Invitation, Field dissects the festivities of fiction across genres, timeframes and locations. Delving into some of our favourite novels and works of fiction she unpicks the social events that give us a deeper understanding of the contexts of the works and their characters. The reader is taken on a stopping tour from Belshazzar s Feast to Satan s Rout, from Jackie Collins Beverley Hills party Hollywood Wives to the Anubis Orgy from Gravity s Rainbow. Field cleverly unpicks what they wore, ate and what they talked about- a new take on some old tales." --The Ham & High
"Books and parties go well together in my view, and my fellow Old Roedeanian Suzette Field clearly agrees. She has written a book about parties. A Curious Invitation (Picador) is her review of what she considers to be the 40 greatest parties in literature, a subject that I suspect could become a dinner party topic in its own right . . . The party to celebrate all these imagined parties is being held on October 26 ... She is staging what is billed as 'a Halloween ball in an abandoned picture palace' in London, where she will be recreating five parties
from her book." --Mrs Moneypenny -Financial Times
"What a brilliant idea." --The Lady
"A good book and a good party have much in common - each should be entertaining but also - when all is said and done - make you feel a little wiser. Suzette Field, the renowned organiser of extraordinary parties is - as should be no surprise - a genuinely talented story teller. Her book possess a playful lightness of touch, but is pregnant with fact and meaning. It is both amusing and informative. Never has education been such a pleasure, never reading a learned exposition so delightful." --Dan Cruickshank Art historian, BBC television presenter and author
"This invaluable guide is written with a professional s eye and full of wit and apercus."
--The Chap magazine
"Books and parties go well together in my view, and my fellow Old Roedeanian Suzette Field clearly agrees. She has written a book about parties. A Curious Invitation (Picador) is her review of what she considers to be the 40 greatest parties in literature, a subject that I suspect could become a dinner party topic in its own right . . . The party to celebrate all these imagined parties is being held on October 26 ... She is staging what is billed as 'a Halloween ball in an abandoned picture palace' in London, where she will be recreating five parties
from her book." --Mrs Moneypenny -Financial Times
"What a brilliant idea." --The Lady
"A good book and a good party have much in common - each should be entertaining but also - when all is said and done - make you feel a little wiser. Suzette Field, the renowned organiser of extraordinary parties is - as should be no surprise - a genuinely talented story teller. Her book possess a playful lightness of touch, but is pregnant with fact and meaning. It is both amusing and informative. Never has education been such a pleasure, never reading a learned exposition so delightful." --Dan Cruickshank Art historian, BBC television presenter and author
"This invaluable guide is written with a professional s eye and full of wit and apercus."
--The Chap magazine
Book Description
Since ancient times human beings have gathered together for social purposes. And since not very long after that writers have written about these occasions. The party is a useful literary device, not only for social comment and satire, but as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in love, fall out or even get murdered. A Curious Invitation features forty of the greatest fictional festivities. Some of these parties are depictions of real events, like the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball on the eve of battle with Napoleon in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair; others draw on the author’s experience of the society they lived in, such as Lady Metroland’s party in Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies; while yet others come straight from the writer’s bizarre imagination, like Douglas Adams’ flying party above an unknown planet from ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. Suzette Field offers you the chance to gatecrash these parties, spanning most of the history of human civilization, seen through the eyes of the world’s greatest writers.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Abby
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A Curious Invitation: The Forty Greatest Parties in LiteratureThis book dips into some of the greatest works of literature so sounds a bit scholarly but its all told with humour and a lightness of touch, so you can learn a lot from it about some well known and notorious people and their parties. The pretty cover also makes it an ideal gift. A most entertaining read. Well done Ms Field A Curious Invitation: The Forty Greatest Parties in Literature
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By D Edwards
Format:Hardcover
Eclectic look at the depiction of parties, soirees, banquets and balls across the whole history of literature, examining every dress code, menu, guest list and conversation. Possibly the first book to compare Joyce's Finnegan's Wake with Jackie Collins's Hollywood Wives (!)
I was particularly intrigued by the theory in the introduction that real life social events are rarely written about with any detail, eg in historical accounts and diaries. It does seem that we turn to fiction for the proper representation of such gatherings across history. Possibly because a single person's experience of a real party is always going to be unsatisfactory to read; parties are group experiences, after all. Suzette Field has tried to keep her menu as varied as possible, so some omissions which might seem glaring (eg a party from the works of Anthony Powell) have been made in favour of others from roughly the same era and genre (Waugh). Certainly, there could be a whole book devoted to parties in science fiction novels alone (Moorcock springs to mind), but as the single sci-fi entry, choosing the 'flying party' from Life The Universe and Everything isn't at all a bad thing. Similarly, the single entries for horror (Stephen King's Carrie) and fantasy (Tolkein's Lord of the Rings) make perfect sense: not only are these classics of the genre, but the respective party scenes are well-known even to those who've not read the source novels: Carrie and the bucket of pig's blood, Bilbo's vanishing during his birthday speech.
There's also a good sense of the history of literature, as told through parties. The Great Gatsby is here, as expected, but perhaps not all Gatsby fans might be aware of the classical text that inspired it: Trimalchio's party, from Petronius's Satyricon, in the 1st century AD.
Ms Field's book is a refreshing celebration of fiction, and breathes new and accessible life into some dusty old classics. It also works as an intriguing taster of some books one might not have read, but always meant to. A perfect present for any book lover or indeed, for the organiser of any book group.
I was particularly intrigued by the theory in the introduction that real life social events are rarely written about with any detail, eg in historical accounts and diaries. It does seem that we turn to fiction for the proper representation of such gatherings across history. Possibly because a single person's experience of a real party is always going to be unsatisfactory to read; parties are group experiences, after all. Suzette Field has tried to keep her menu as varied as possible, so some omissions which might seem glaring (eg a party from the works of Anthony Powell) have been made in favour of others from roughly the same era and genre (Waugh). Certainly, there could be a whole book devoted to parties in science fiction novels alone (Moorcock springs to mind), but as the single sci-fi entry, choosing the 'flying party' from Life The Universe and Everything isn't at all a bad thing. Similarly, the single entries for horror (Stephen King's Carrie) and fantasy (Tolkein's Lord of the Rings) make perfect sense: not only are these classics of the genre, but the respective party scenes are well-known even to those who've not read the source novels: Carrie and the bucket of pig's blood, Bilbo's vanishing during his birthday speech.
There's also a good sense of the history of literature, as told through parties. The Great Gatsby is here, as expected, but perhaps not all Gatsby fans might be aware of the classical text that inspired it: Trimalchio's party, from Petronius's Satyricon, in the 1st century AD.
Ms Field's book is a refreshing celebration of fiction, and breathes new and accessible life into some dusty old classics. It also works as an intriguing taster of some books one might not have read, but always meant to. A perfect present for any book lover or indeed, for the organiser of any book group.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A Curious Invitation : The 40 Greatest Parties in Literature was published in October by Picador, I was delighted to receive a copy of this beautifully presented book from Sandra in the Picador Press Office.
It really is a joy to look at, the cover is wonderfully illustrated, with touches of gold leaf in amongst the drawings, there are more black and white drawings dotted throughout the book.
Suzette Field is a very successful event promoter. the balls and parties that she arranges regularly attract 3000 guests. She is a real 'party animal', and her love of a good 'do' shine through in the 40 parties that she has selected to feature in her book. Each party has been taken from a work of fiction, although a couple of the included bashes are fictionalised versions of real historical events. And what a varied bunch of parties she has selected, the reader is taken from the world of Plato to Pooh, with each event given as much thought and consideration as the last one.
It's not just traditional parties that are featured either, there are garden parties, proms and orgies! Suzette Field has listed the guest lists, the food, the dress, the entertainment and the lasting legacy of each event.
A Curious Invitation is a fascinating read, told with humour at times, it is really accessible and will be enjoyed by anyone who loves books and especially those book-lovers who love to party.
This the sort of book that you can dip into at any time and find another fascinating party, it's almost like being a constant gatecrasher!
It really is a joy to look at, the cover is wonderfully illustrated, with touches of gold leaf in amongst the drawings, there are more black and white drawings dotted throughout the book.
Suzette Field is a very successful event promoter. the balls and parties that she arranges regularly attract 3000 guests. She is a real 'party animal', and her love of a good 'do' shine through in the 40 parties that she has selected to feature in her book. Each party has been taken from a work of fiction, although a couple of the included bashes are fictionalised versions of real historical events. And what a varied bunch of parties she has selected, the reader is taken from the world of Plato to Pooh, with each event given as much thought and consideration as the last one.
It's not just traditional parties that are featured either, there are garden parties, proms and orgies! Suzette Field has listed the guest lists, the food, the dress, the entertainment and the lasting legacy of each event.
A Curious Invitation is a fascinating read, told with humour at times, it is really accessible and will be enjoyed by anyone who loves books and especially those book-lovers who love to party.
This the sort of book that you can dip into at any time and find another fascinating party, it's almost like being a constant gatecrasher!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A delightfully bookish party planner!
Being instantly drawn to this book, which features such a quirky title in combination with one of the most gorgeous covers I've seen in a long time, this proved indeed to be quite... Read more
Published 3 months ago by BLehner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely Book!
I have always enjoyed Suzette's parties via Last Tuesday Society, so it was wonderful fun to gatecrash the greatest parties of the ages with her! Recommended.
Published 4 months ago by Dec10
4.0 out of 5 stars
From Poe to Pooh
A Curious Invitation casts an eye over forty of the most memorable gatherings, orgies and happenings in literature. Read more
Published 5 months ago by WorkshyFop
5.0 out of 5 stars
absolutely wonderful
i read this book in one sitting, it is wonderful written, entertaining, informative and a damn good read - i'll be putting it in christmas stockings!
Published 6 months ago by robert bucknell
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