First published 2009
C. David Heymann examines the hidden romantic relationship between Jackie Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. The author draws on twenty years of personal interviews plus Secret Service and FBI documents to reveal their affair. Their connection began after President Kennedy's assassination in 1963, born from shared grief and mutual support. The relationship continued until Bobby launched his presidential campaign in 1968. Heymann traces their meetings from Jackie's Fifth Avenue apartment to the Kennedy compound in Palm Beach. The book explores how their bond grew from tragedy into deep friendship, shaped by family loyalty and political ambition. Truman Capote called it "perhaps the most normal relationship either one ever had." The author presents this as an open secret among Kennedy insiders for decades. Heymann has written multiple Kennedy biographies that sold millions of copies combined. His previous works covered Jackie, Robert, John F. Kennedy Jr., and Caroline Kennedy individually.
Genres: biography, romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Fifth Avenue, Kennedy Compound, Palm Beach
Period: 1963, 1968
226 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books