The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters by Sam Kashner, Nancy Schoenberger has an expected publication date of September 25th, 2018 by Harper (an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers). A poignant, evocative, and wonderfully gossipy account of the two sisters who represented style and class above all else—Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill—from the authors of Furious Love.
When sixty-four-year-old Jackie Kennedy Onassis died in her Fifth Avenue apartment, her younger sister Lee wept inconsolably. Then Jackie’s thirty-eight-page will was read. Lee discovered that substantial cash bequests were left to family members, friends, and employees—but nothing to her. “I have made no provision in this my Will for my sister, Lee B. Radziwill, for whom I have great affection, because I have already done so during my lifetime,” read Jackie’s final testament. Drawing on the authors’ candid interviews with Lee Radziwill, The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters explores their complicated relationship, placing them at the center of twentieth-century fashion, design, and style.
In life, Jackie and Lee were alike in so many ways. Both women had a keen eye for beauty—in fashion, design, painting, music, dance, sculpture, poetry—and both were talented artists. Both loved pre-revolutionary Russian culture, and the blinding sunlight, calm seas, and ancient olive groves of Greece. Both loved the siren call of the Atlantic, sharing sweet, early memories of swimming with the rakish father they adored, Jack Vernou Bouvier, at his East Hampton retreat. But Jackie was her father’s favorite, and Lee, her mother’s. One would grow to become the most iconic woman of her time, while the other lived in her shadow. As they grew up, the two sisters developed an extremely close relationship threaded with rivalry, jealousy, and competition. Yet it was probably the most important relationship of their lives.
For the first time, Vanity Fair contributing editor Sam Kashner and acclaimed biographer Nancy Schoenberger tell the complete story of these larger-than-life sisters. Drawing on new information and extensive interviews with Lee, now eighty-four, this dual biography sheds light on the public and private lives of two extraordinary women who lived through immense tragedy in enormous glamour.
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About the authors:
Sam Kashner is the author of four nonfiction books, including the memoir When I Was Cool: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School, and one novel, Sinatraland. He has written extensively for Vanity Fair as a contributing editor.
Nancy Schoenberger is a professor of English and creative writing at the College of William and Mary. She is the author of Dangerous Muse: The Life of Lady Caroline Blackwood, and coauthor with her husband, Sam Kashner, of books on Oscar Levant, George Reeves, and the relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. She lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.
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My review: The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters is a lovely biography of Jackie and Lee. Both women were known for their cultured and European sense of style in both fashion and design, their grace and beauty, and their captivating personalities. A story about two sisters who were close and always there for each other not matter what but at times the tension between the two was unbearable. Lee always felt like she lived in the shadows of Jackie and jealousy always led to competition between the two sisters.
While both women were captivating and intriguing in their own individual ways, they lived fascinating lives that were at times tragic and heartbreaking. A well-written biography that shares the dynamic relationship the two sisters shared. I enjoyed reading The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters. ** I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.**
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