The Draper Touch: The High Life & High Style of Dorothy Draper

Varney heads Dorothy Draper & Co., founded by the late doyenne of interior design, whose life and career he describes in this scintillating biography. Himself an admired designer of famous places in the U.S. and abroad, the author tells Draper's story with fitting elan. Known as the ``last grande dame,'' naturally imperious, Dorothy Tuckerman and her husband were descendants of the English who settled Newport, R.I., long before the ``new money'' typesVanderbilts, Astors, Morgansset foot on the social ladder. Anecdotes about socialites and celebrities add spice to the book, but the Draper history is the most absorbing. When she died in 1969 at age 80, Draper had created decorative wonders, among them the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan and the Greenbriar Hotel in West Virginia. Some remain symbols of elegance, but most, sadly, have been altered or razed by ``developers.'' (Dec.)