BOOKS, BALLGOWNS AND DEAD BODIES FILM REVIEW
VICTORIA “Plum” Sykes, Vogue contributing editor and “Party Girls Die in Pearls” author, is first and foremost, a feminist, she says. Surprised? Don’t be. Despite being credited as one of the “chicklit” genre’s founding figures, the English-roseturned-writer behind “Bergdorf Blondes” and “The Debutante Divorcee” is quick to point out that the term “chick lit” is slightly derogatory. And sexist.
“Maybe it was invented by a man,” Sykes, 47, suggested over afternoon tea at Hotel ZaZa last week. “Let’s face it, they don’t call anything ‘boylit.’ Having said that, it’s a very useful phrase for marketing purposes, because in a nutshell, this book is written by a woman, for women.”
It’s also an ideal summer read for 1980s nostalgics and rom-com enthusiasts, though this time around, there’s is a decidedly modern slant. Unlike the privileged damsels-in-distress of fiction past, the two protagonists in Sykes’ third novel are wellpolished heroines, not husband-hunters.
“The book is the story of Ursula, a freshman at Oxford University, and her best friend Nancy, who’s an American studyabroad student,” she explains. “They arrive expecting books and ballgowns, but find a body.”
When Ursula discovers one of her glamorous classmates has been murdered, she dives into the investigation — and story — for the university newspaper. There’s no shortage of suspects at the upper-crust parties Ursula attends.
As is her signature, the plot draws liberally from Sykes’ own life. She, too, attended Worcester College at the University of Oxford, 19881992. Just don’t expect her to recall any information relating to her history degree.
“I was in the library all day and in a ballgown
Author Plum Sykes dishes on her latest novel’s killer twist
every night,” she says, chuckling. “There were a lot more boys than girls at that time. Few girls went to university and far fewer went to Oxford. I was invited to everything because there weren’t any other girls to invite.”
But there was no shortage of dramatic material befitting a whodunit. Sykes recalls that a fellow student murdered his girlfriend and buried her body beneath the floor boards in his dorm.
“I do wonder now whether that case has always stuck with me,” she says.
Not that the future best-selling author’s college experience was all doom and gloom. The late ’80s were her introduction to preppy culture, excess and glamour.
“I was particularly amused by Sloane Rangers, which was the English version of a preppy. Lady Diana was the ultimate Sloane Ranger,” Sykes says. “Lots of girls wanted to dress like her — with pleated skirts, high-neck collars and pearls. I thought it would be fun to do a spoof or satire on these people who think they’re posh.”
By comparison, Houstonians are unironically turned-out.
“To an English person, you all seem immaculate,” Sykes says, before sharing that her own look — white Rag & Bone jeans and a Vince cardigan — was from (where else?) Bergdorf Goodman.
“You’re all very wellgroomed, very dressy and you’re not afraid to be very feminine. Even the way that women talk here is so nice; it’s unaggressive compared with New York or London.”
All points considered, the crowd that gathered at the Burberry boutique for an exclusive “Party Girls Die in Pearls” book signing later that evening stands in a class apart. Sykes herself changed into one the British luxury brand’s shift dresses and crystalencrusted Manolo Blahnik pumps to greet philanthropists Lynn Wyatt and Isabel David, real-estate executive Carolyn Wolff Dorros and oncologist Ishwaria Subbiah. Allison Sarofim, who hosted Sykes’ Galleria debut for a “Bergdorf Blondes” book party back in 2006, paired up with her sister-in-law Courtney Sarofim for Monday night’s intimate gathering.
“When I was thinking about the book tour I thought, ‘How do I get the message out there to the women I want to speak to?’ ” Sykes says. “You can sign books in bookshops, which I’ve been doing, but adding fashion stores just adds a whole other layer of people who wouldn’t go to a bookshop necessarily.”
The moral of Sykes’ story, then, is that women can be both feminists and feminine, fashionforward and forwardthinking. In fact, she and husband Tony Rowland are raising daughters Ursala and Tess, ages 10 and 6, with a feminist ideology, she says.
This is a former Oxford party girl who knows her audience — and what she wants to read.
“My books are all quite frothy and light because I think that life is quite hard for most people. There’s always something horrible going on,” she says.
“If you can escape for a bit with a book, especially in Houston where you’ve all got swimming pools, what a great way to pass a couple of hours, you know?”