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With his novels People Like Us and A Season in Purgatory, the late Dominick Dunne brought an imaginative touch to the world he covered for V.F., illuminating the lives of the powerful and privileged in a way very few others could. In an excerpt from his final novel, Too Much Money, published this month, the funeral of a legendary New York philanthropist (Brooke Astor, anyone?) is the occasion for some ruthless social maneuvering, not to mention ideal fodder for Dunne’s alter ego, Gus Bailey.

Best-selling author Dominick Dunne died in New York at age 83 Wednesday. People book reviewer Judith Newman remembers the highly admired writer.A great writer can take personal tragedy and make it into something meaningful and even beautiful to the rest of us. Nobody proved this point better than Dominick Dunne, who died of bladder cancer on Wednesday. A successful film producer in the '70s who flamed out in a haze of booze and coke, Dunne had pulled himself together and was casting about for another career when, in 1982, his life was again shattered: His daughter Dominique, an actress, was...

Eva Marie Saint has signed on to co-star in Don't Come Knocking, an independent feature film being directed by Wim Wenders and starring Sam Shepard. The story centers on an aging cowboy star (Shepard) who rides off the set midshoot on a voyage of self-discovery. Saint will play Shepard's mother. Shepard wrote the screenplay, which is based on a story by Shepard and Wenders. Knocking is a Reverse Angle production and is being produced by Peter Schwartzkopff. Production starts this summer. Saint most recently co-starred in Wayne Wang's Because of Winn-Dixie, to be released in January by 20th Century Fox. She is best known for her work in On the Waterfront, for which she won a best supporting actress Oscar, and North by Northwest. Saint won an Emmy for her work in the 1990 TV movie People Like Us. She is represented by ICM and managed by Jeff Sanderson.