They are ten outstanding women of the twentieth century. Each had an aura. They were mighty warriors and social leaders, women of aspirations who persevered. They lived through the Great Depression and a world war. Circumstances did not defeat them. They played on Broadway and in Washington. They had glamour, style, and intelligence. They dressed up the world. In GREAT DAMES, Marie Brenner introduces us to a pantheon of women whose lives are both gloriously individual and yet somehow universal.