I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise

A Life of Bunny Mellon

By: Mac Griswold

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Bunny Mellon, whose life was marked by astonishing good fortune as well as tragedy and scandal, remains a singular figure in the annals of American design. She had her finger on the pulse of American culture and possessed a rare sense of style and grace. Her most celebrated work—the White House Rose Garden—demonstrated how formal restraint and the sparing use of color could be deployed to maximal effect.

In I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise, Mac Griswold—who knew Mellon personally—delves into her subject's closely-guarded personal archives to construct an unrivaled portrait of a woman as complex and multifaceted as the gardens and homes on which she left her mark. This book explores the tension between Mellon's idea of herself as a "poor little rich girl" and her own enterprising spirit. Mellon tested the anodyne 1950s model of woman as-wife-as-mother by getting a divorce, admitting candidly to her first husband that she wanted a richer one. She imperiously traded old friends for new, and ultimately used her reputation, her connections, and above all her money to help fund John Edwards's short-lived presidential campaign.

How Mellon's character, style, and taste developed together to produce her greatest accomplishments—private and public—is the real subject of this biography.

©2022 Mac Griswold (P)2022 Tantor

Great pairing of author &reader produced engrossing biography of brilliant, self educated, disciplined, romantic, rich American

The perfect narration for this epic biography of Bunny Mellon. It wasn’t a word too
long! What a treat to hear Christ’s Lewis speak French with a Loire Valley accent - I am told the purest spoken French is from that region!
Mac Griswold’s biography shows a deep dive into primary sources as well as and first hand knowledge of and love and admiration for Bunny Mellon. I read it while gardening in Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA. There were times which made it a Zen experience. Bravo to author and reader!!

Some sparks on a mostly dull account

This book is a missed opportunity for an engrossing read. Most big scenes are all tell and no show. The author says Bunny Mellon was “no wit” and that is reflected on every page. Melon’s relationship with art reads like a catalogue raisonné. So many anecdotes are out of chronological order the book lacks a narrative thread. Very little insight and instead quotes from Mellon’s friends’ biographies. The voice of the reader is nice to listen to.

Poorly written

Interesting subject but the book is shallow and thinly reported. I wish I'd skipped this one.