Princess Diana’s Final Heartbreak; Robert Maxwell’s Paradoxical Life and Death; the First Hollywood Superagent

A special delivery from the Vanity Fair Archive. View in your browser | Update your preferences     A daily digest of things to discuss over drinks December 27, 2021 Cap off the year with these captivating long reads, handpicked from the Vanity Fair Archive.   When Sue Was Queen Sue Mengers was the first superagent, a William Morris secretary from the Bronx whose moxie, canniness, and astringent wit took her to the top of the Hollywood power structure, making her nearly as famous as her clients, a list that included Ali MacGraw, Gene Hackman, Peter Bogdanovich, Burt Reynolds, and close friend Barbra Streisand. Recalling how a hilariously bawdy, no-bullshit blonde crashed the industry men's club, Peter Biskind in 2000 got Mengers's frank, still-acerbic account of her glory days, why her magic—and her stars—deserted her in the 1980s, and the price of becoming a legend in her own time. R E A D  M O R E »     The Sinking of Captain Bob Did the same furies that drove Holocaust refugee Robert Maxwell to build a high-stakes media empire play a role in his demise? In 1992, Edward Klein reported in exclusive interviews with Maxwell's widow and daughter—and with his business associates in London and New York—on the final mystery of the press baron who died a death as paradoxical as the life he led. R E A D  M O R E »     Diana's Final Heartbreak Princess Diana emerged from her divorce with a new style, a new crusade (banning land mines), and a new love, Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, whom she hid from the press for 18 months. But, as Tina Brown chronicles, Diana's superstar status—and her emotional scars—drove away the man she hoped to marry, sending her into the spiral that would lead to Paris. R E A D  M O R E »     Majoring in Crime The untold story of the "Transy Book Heist" is one part Oceans 11 one part Harold & Kumar: four Kentucky college kids who had millions to gain and nothing to lose. R E A D  M O R E »     The Accidental Activist She appeared to be the perfect plaintiff in a case that changed America's political landscape: Roe v. Wade, decided by the Supreme Court almost 50 years ago. But Norma McCorvey was never what she seemed: neither as the pregnant Texas woman who won fame as abortion-rights icon "Jane Roe" nor as the pro-life activist she would become. Retracing her life through family, friends, and advisers, Joshua Prager investigates. R E A D  M O R E » Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. Sign Up Now     This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.