Title Unveiling the prophet : the misadventures of a reluctant debutante / Lucy Ferriss

Published Columbia : University of Missouri Press, ©2005

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Description 1 online resource (ix, 154 pages) Contents Acknowledgments -- Prologue 1965 -- The Letter -- The Date -- The Story -- Secession -- The Wedding -- The Invitations -- The Motions -- Founding Fathers -- Television -- The Other Side -- On the Carpet -- The Magic Land of Khorassan -- The Unveiling -- The Girl from Georgia -- The Queen -- Postscript -- About the Author Summary "In the Autumn of 1972, Lucy Ferriss, then a college student in California, was preparing for the Veiled Prophet Ball at which she was to be presented to St. Louis society. Once the largest cotillion in the country, the invitation-only ball was unique among society events not only for the legend and mystery surrounding its namesake but also for its setting in a public, taxpayer-funded arena and for its accompanying parade." "In the late sixties and early seventies, with racial tensions at a boiling point and urban renewal failing, the exclusively white male Christian membership of the Veiled Prophet Society and the Veiled Prophet's costume - eerily reminiscent of a Klansman's - attracted the ire of ACTION, a militant civil rights group. Before the 1972 ball, ACTION founder Percy Green, himself a native St. Louisan, sent letters inviting all of the debutantes to join in the protest: "ACTION understands that you hate being part of this upcoming white racist Veiled Prophet Ball as we hate you being forced to participate by your parents." The letter didn't persuade Ferriss, who felt she owed it to her father to participate. She wrote back: "Don't you have bigger fish to fry? This is just a stupid party. We are slaughtering people in Southeast Asia. Let this one go. It will fall of its own weight."" "But ACTION did not let this one go. On the night of the ball, as Ferriss bowed in obeisance to the crowd and took her place on the stage, a woman swooped down onto the stage and knocked off the Veiled Prophet's hat and veil, revealing his identity. In the era of monumental Vietnam War protests, unmasking a wealthy and powerful old man might have seemed a feeble act of revolution, but this act forever changed the Veiled Prophet Ball in St. Louis." "Ferriss's memoir blends regional history, national history, and her own personal history to create a fast-paced narrative that follows two time lines. One is the dramatic and often funny story of her attending the exclusive Ball, having eaten half a pan of marijuana brownies beforehand, with a Jewish hippie who smelled of "unwashed beard." The other story takes place thrifty years later as Ferriss returns to St. Louis from her home on the East Coast to track down some of ACTION's principal activists as well as key figures in the Veiled Prophet Society." "Over the course of this story, Ferriss undergoes her own unveiling, as she discusses and comes to terms with her family; the past, present, and future of St. Louis; and the cultural politics that frame young women's entrance into society."--Jacket Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL English Print version record digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL Subject Ferriss, Lucy, 1954- -- Homes and haunts -- Missouri -- Saint Louis Ferriss, Lucy, 1954- -- Childhood and youth SUBJECT Ferriss, Lucy, 1954- fast Subject Veiled Prophets of Saint Louis (Order : Mo.) SUBJECT Veiled Prophets of Saint Louis (Order : Mo.) fast Subject Authors, American -- Homes and haunts -- Missouri -- Saint Louis Authors, American -- 20th century -- Biography Debutante balls -- Missouri -- Saint Louis BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Literary. LITERARY CRITICISM -- American -- General. Childhood and youth of a person Authors, American Authors, American -- Homes and haunts Debutante balls Homes Manners and customs SUBJECT Saint Louis (Mo.) -- Social life and customs Subject Missouri -- Saint Louis Genre/Form autobiographies (literary works) Autobiographies Biographies Autobiographies. Biographies. Autobiographies. Biographies. Form Electronic book ISBN 0826216013 9780826216014 0826264913 9780826264916

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