The End of Sally Quinn's Era

Sally Quinn, third wife of former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, queen of the Georgetown social circuit, and chronicler of the very “D.C. cocktail parties” that bloggers have long ranted against, lost her Post column after she wrote a catty article about scheduling her son’s wedding on the same day as her husband’s granddaughter’s. She’s not sorry. In this month's issue of Vanity Fair, writer Evgenia Peretz tells the tale of Quinn’s 30-year dominance of the Establishment scene, a story dotted with weird family feuds, glamorous parties, social climbing, and fierce protection of her disabled son. She vehemently attacked the Clintons because Hillary was “not being sufficiently solicitous,” the magazine says, and alienated Bradlee’s kids from previous marriages. Her care for her son, while admirable, borders on obsessive. When Quinn heard he lost his virginity to a hooker, she escorted the duo to an HIV test. Quinn spent years crucifying various D.C. players for their embarrassing party fouls, but with her wedding-conflict column, Quinn was finally the one widely mocked for her fancy-people faux pas.