ABSTRACT
Diplomacy has long been regarded as one of the more traditional subjects of historical scholarship. This chapter explains how one woman's work contributed to the high tone and stylishness of American diplomacy at the peak of its twentieth-century influence. Chief among diplomacy's settings since the eighteenth century were the salons where elite society gathered. The salon of Evangeline Bruce was one of the most continuous and, according to contemporary accounts, celebrated. In London in the 1960s, 'Vangie Bruce' was named the 'Number One American hostess by rank and ability'; in Washington. She was dubbed "The Fourth Mrs. B" after Washington's three legendary salonnieres, Mildred Bliss, Virginia Bacon and Marie Beale. She described herself, as people would describe her, as a diplomatic professional, partners in every sense of the word. The French would say that a salon is like-minded people getting together to converse on literature, art, history and politics.
