The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family

Laurence Leamer

Ivy Books, 1995 - Biography & Autobiography - 1004 pages

"A FRESH AND UNVARNISHED PORTRAIT OF A FASCINATING, TALENTED AND DEEPLY FLAWED FAMILY."
--Boston Herald
Laurence Leamer was granted unheralded access to private Kennedy papers, and he interviewed family and old friends, many of whom have never been interviewed before, for this incredible portrait of the women in America's "royal family." From Bridget Murphy, the foremother who touched shore at East Boston in 1849, to the intelligent, independent Kennedy women of today, Laurence Leamer now tells their stories.
Here are the private thoughts of Kathleen, the flirtatious debutante in prewar England...the truth behind Joe Kennedy's insistence that his mildly retarded daughter, Rosemary, be lobotomized...the real story behind Joan and Ted's whirlwind romance...Jackie's desire for a divorce from JFK in the 1950s...Pat Lawford's disastrous Hollywood marriage...how Caroline discovered her cousin David's death by overdose, and more.
Tough enough to withstand the unimaginable, these Kennedy women soldier on, in the name of their extraordinary family and what they believe is right.
"MASTERFUL...AN ENDLESSLY FASCINATING READ...A wealth of beautifully rendered social detail, at times reading like a realist novel by Edith Wharton...[A] page-turner from start to finish."
--The Dallas Morning News

Contents

• When Irish Eyes Are Smiling: 1
• Bridgets Journey: 4
• The Hannons and the Fitzgeralds: 24

About the author

Laurence Leamer was born in Chicago on Ocober 30, 1941. He is the author of thirteen books, including The Kennedy Women, and Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2015 his non-fiction book The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963, was listed on the Nrew York Times bestseller list. Leamer is a former Ford Fellow in International Development at the University of Oregon and a former International Fellow at Columbia University. He is regarded as an expert on the Kennedy family. Leamer was on the staff at Newsweek, and has written for The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Playboy, and many other publications.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family; Ivy Books
• Author: Laurence Leamer
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Ivy Books, 1995
• ISBN: 0804113610, 9780804113618
• Length: 1004 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / General; Biography & Autobiography / Historical; Biography & Autobiography / Political; Biography & Autobiography / Rich & Famous; Biography & Autobiography / Women