Erotic novel from grande dame causes a stir

In a sign that you're never too old to try something new - or something racy - one of the grandes dames of New York society has caused a stir by penning an erotic novel at the ripe old age of 85.

Gloria Vanderbilt, whose family name is one of the most famed in Manhattan history, has written Obsession, the story of a woman who becomes entranced by her dead husband's affair with a dominatrix.

Passages from the sexually explicit book, which is to be published in June, have been leaked to a New York tabloid. They showed that Vanderbilt's prose spares no one's blushes. Andrea Peyser, a columnist at the New York Post who got hold of the 143-page tome, breathlessly called it "pure, elegant, unadulterated smut", before reassuring readers that the book was light enough to be "easily read with one hand".

The plot follows the adventures of society beauty Priscilla Bingham, whose husband, Talbot, dies after 10 years of marriage. She then discovers his letters to his dominatrix lover, Bea, and becomes obsessed with exploring his secret world of erotica.

But while the age of the author might shock some, perhaps no one should be surprised. Vanderbilt has been a socialite, actress, fashion designer and artist who married four times.

In 2004 she published a memoir of her love affairs with some of the most famous names in Hollywood, including Marlon Brando, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Howard Hughes. In that book, published when she was a sprightly 80, she confessed: "I find sex endlessly interesting. I suppose I always will."

Vanderbilt is also famous as the mother of Anderson Cooper, a famous CNN presenter.

"I'm often surprised by my mom, but am always supportive of anything she does," he said. "She's totally unique and cool.

"At 85, whatever she wants to write is fine by me."

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