How to Do It or the Lively Art of Entertaining

Whether it’s time for high camp or high tea, celebrated dishes or celebrity dish, Miss Maxwell delivers tips on entertaining that are entertainment enough in this classic, camp period piece, as relevant today to hosts and hostesses as it was when it was originally published in 1956. The ultimate book on entertaining, How to Do It dishes on what to do about bachelors as guests, not inviting the family, uncomfortable greetings, “inebriates,” and countless other factors that could potentially prevent your party from being This Year’s Important Affair.
Want to give a party? Darling, the cocktail party is so over. Miss Maxwell shares her secrets to livening up your soiree, from scavenger hunts to tea parties in the afternoon. The party bible for hostesses who can’t stand another humdrum fete: How to Do It includes recipes (among others, dishes such as “Andalusian Gazpacho à la Joan Fontaine” and “Cole Porter’s Cherry Compote”), advice (Steer clear of bores. Really.), and trouble-shooting potential disasters (your guest is dominating the conversation―you’ll need to stop him now!). Don’t even contemplate entertaining without Miss Maxwell’s help.

Elsa Maxwell reigned as America’s top hostess in the mid-twentieth century. Born in 1883 in Iowa, she left school by 14 and spent her youth traveling the world as a theater accompanist though she had no formal musical training. In her travels, Elsa met socially important people, and began showing up at society soirees in both the United States and Europe. By the end of World War I, she had established herself as high society’s premier hostess.