First published 2018
Janet Auchincloss delivers her philosophy to daughters Jackie and Lee during afternoon tea: happiness comes from money and power. This lesson shapes both women as they follow their mother's example of strategic marriages. Jackie marries President John F. Kennedy, then Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, while also conducting affairs with a renowned architect and British peer. Lee pursues her own romantic entanglements, including liaisons with one or both of Jackie's husbands alongside her three marriages to an illegitimate royal, Polish prince, and Hollywood director. The Bouvier women embody elegance and style, yet their hunger for wealth and status drives them to pursue influential men regardless of personal cost. Taraborrelli draws from hundreds of interviews with family and friends, including the sisters' half-brother, plus personal letters and journals to reveal the psychological forces behind their relentless social climbing.
Genres: biography, romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, strategic-marriages
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
528 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press