Clare Boothe Luce is probably better known for her publishing and political career than for her series of Depression-era comic hits. A master of the art of self-invention, she not only wrote three of the most commercially successful plays of the 1930s (as well as many other stage plays and screenplays over the course of her life that were never produced), but also at various times held the post of managing editor for Vanity Fair, was a war correspondent for Life, held a seat in the House of Representatives, became the first woman ambassador from the United States to a major foreign power, was a close friend of eight American presidents (for most of whom she had vigorously campaigned), and was the wealthiest woman in the United States for much of her life. She was also known for the conservative politics that characterized her later beliefs: she was...