In this month’s Avenue (it’s a society magazine, move on), Vanity Fair scribe Vicky Ward is interviewed about her upcoming book, The Devil’s Casino: Friendship, Betrayal, and the High Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers. In a story titled — and we did not make this up — “Vicky Victorious,” writer Michael Shnayerson painstakingly explains how beautiful, competent, and talented Ward is as a writer, mother, and British person. You know what’s fun about this? Shnayerson and Ward are buddies from Vanity Fair, where they’re both contributing editors on the rich-people beat. Here’s some of what Shnayerson has to say about his pal interview subject:
At 40 Ward is a deadly combination of perfect blonde and posh Brit, oozing charm and volubility in Cambridge-modulated tones: even the grumpiest ex-Lehmanite, one senses, would spill the beans to her.
In between tales of how Ward tracked down the story of the fall of Lehman, there are more fawning details:
Ward is whip-smart, keenly ambitious, blithely self-promoting and simply unsquashable. Slam a door in her face and she’ll go around the back.
“What can you say about Vicky that she hasn’t already said about herself?” says Vanity Fair Editor in Chief Graydon Carter. “As a reporter, she’s nothing if not dogged. And as a colleague, she can inspire feelings of amazement, exasperation, and compassion, all in equal measure.” …
We had no idea you could do this! Get paid money to interview your work buddies and make them sound great! We’re going to start doing this. Right now!
Naturally, Pressler went blond for the shoot.Photo: Avenue, Patrick McMullan
At, um, 29, Jessica Pressler is a deadly combination of expensively highlighted auburn hair and faint middle-class Massachusetts accent, firing out wisdom and one-liners like she had a chili omelette for breakfast: Even the most curmudgeonly high dudgeon megabank spokesperson, one senses, would spill the beans to her …
Pressler is public-school smart at the very least, increasingly beaten down by work, but somehow cautiously optimistic — probably because of the booze. Also, she’s unsquishable, we think, but we’ve never made an attempt. Slam a door in her face and she’ll open it again, invite you to walk through it, and then slam it in your face and go, “I can’t believe you fell for that. Again.”
“Jessica keeps a clean desk and rarely orders smelly food for lunch,” says nymag.com’s Lane Brown, who sits sort of near us. “One time she bought us all tequila shots at an office party.”
Hmm. Maybe we just don’t have the knack for this.
Vicky Victorious [VickyWard.com]
