The Other Mrs. Kennedy : An Intimate and Revealing Look at the Hidden Life of Ethel Skakel Kennedy - Softcover

Oppenheimer, Jerry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312956002 ISBN 13: 9780312956004

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1995

Synopsis

She's the real power behind the Kennedy name. Now, for the first time, her secrets are exposed..

She ruthlessly mocked her sister-in-law Jacke's breathy voice and often referred to her as "the Debutante"
She kept a lengthy "enemies list" and blackballed those who she felt were disloyal or critical of the Kennedys
She turned Hickory Hill into an eerie shrine that included life-sized photos of Bobby in closets that startled visitors
She made one fo the most difficult decisions of her life when she agreed to "pull the plug" on Bobby as he lay dying after being shot by Sirhan Sirhan
She distanced herself from her own Skakel family, whose scandals exceeded those of even the Kennedys.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Yet another Kennedy bio from the school of journalism that mistakes an avalanche of minutiae for the thoughtful examination of a life. No irrelevant detail--from the length of her skirts to the thank-you notes she sent her dressmaker--escapes examination in this account of Ethel Kennedy's life. If Oppenheimer (Barbara Walters, 1990, etc.) has a point of view, it seems to be that being rich and famous is hell, and it is hell squared if you're both a Skakel and a Kennedy. A brief review of Ethel's ancestors takes the reader back to Yazoo County, Miss., and her great-grandfather, who was one of 11 children. Ethel herself was one of seven in an unruly tribe, wealthy and privileged but undisciplined. Her brothers terrorized Greenwich, Conn., with their antics, as some of Ethel's 11 children would later terrorize Hyannis Port, Mass., and Hickory Hill, Va. The young Ethel was nevertheless a good fit for the Kennedy family. Athletic, schooled by the nuns of the Sacred Heart (as were Rose and her daughters) to give husband and children priority in life, she was an exuberant, extroverted complement to the sometimes melancholy Robert F. Kennedy. She also bravely faced tragic loss--her parents, her brother, her brother-in-law, her husband, a son. But she was a notorious penny-pincher, could be vindictive and unreasonably demanding, and was given to rages after Bobby's assassination. That her flaws and her family scandals overshadow her virtues and accomplishments make this unrewarding reading. Arranging index cards in the right order does not make for enlightening biography. With her children leading relatively useful lives and with a personal history of philanthropic activism, Ethel deserves better. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) ($150,000 ad/promo) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review:

"Meticulously researched...exposes backstage dramas at Kennedy nerve centers."
--Greenwich, CT News

"Vivid detail." --Booklist

"Riveting!" --Nashville Banner

"Provides all the dish about Ethel Kennedy." --The Washington Post

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0312956002
• ISBN 13: 9780312956004
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 733