Okay, he did nothing of the sort. But at Observer therapy-diarist George Gurley’s proposal party at his well-heeled mother’s Upper East Side salon days before Christmas, the white-suited Tom Wolfe told BlackBook’s editor a thing or two about his research time in Miami for his upcoming novel, Back to Blood, just acquired with much fanfare by Little, Brown.

Chuckling about Art Basel, December’s annual gallery-and-nightclub party-athon—which has lost its serious art appeal in recent years—Wolfe said, “Art Basel is like Spring Break for rich adults.”

Wethinks that Little, Brown will get pay-off from their rumored $5 million acquisition, which transported Wolfe, a quick-witted 77, from his 40-year publishing home at Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

The book, which has been described as being about “class, family, wealth, race, crime, sex, corruption, and ambition in Miami”—just like Bonfire of the Vanities!—is expected in stores some time next year. We cannot wait! And for the record, we predict that 2004’s lambasted I Am Charlotte Simmons will have its moment after a few more years of rethinking by the esteemed lit critters. (Go Duke!) —The Management Photo courtesy Patrick McMullan Company