A Lady, First: My Life in the Kennedy White House and the American Embassies of Paris and Rome - Hardcover

Baldrige, Letitia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670894532 ISBN 13: 9780670894536

Publisher: Viking Adult, 2001

Synopsis

The first lady of American style and etiquette and former Kennedy White House social secretary chronicles her career in the Kennedy Administration and beyond. 50,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Letitia Baldrige's books on etiquette and behavior have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have been translated and published throughout the world. Her most recent book is In the Kennedy Style. She has served as adviser to five First Ladies and continues to lecture and write for numerous magazines.

From Publishers Weekly:

In her effervescent memoir, Baldrige, ambassador of etiquette, writes, "I disliked unfulfilled passions." She graduated Vassar in the mid-1940s and then, blessed with means, moxie and a voracious appetite for learning, she pursued her passions and led a life that was anything but ordinary for women at that time. Joining the U.S. Foreign Service in her 20s, she served in Paris as social secretary to Evangeline Bruce, the American ambassador's wife, and later to the U.S. ambassador in Rome, Clare Boothe Luce. These two women, Baldrige says, were among her greatest teachers. She tells of her subsequent work as the first female executive at Tiffany's under Walter Hoving, until the White House beckoned in 1960. For three years, she worked feverishly as social secretary to Jacqueline Kennedy until, overworked and contemplating the advice of Joe Kennedy, she quit. She soon opened her own, hugely successful PR firm in Chicago and then moved to New York, marrying in her mid-30s and having two children. With her plate already overflowing, she took on volunteering, lecturing, writing for newspapers and magazines, and writing books on etiquette and her experiences. A life lived so fully and at such a frenetic pace is scarcely to be believed at first, until one takes into account Baldrige's spirited will and work ethic. "I had always thought I was Wonder Woman without the steel bra." Readers may be disappointed by the gentle nature of the gossip and lack of scandal, but Baldrige's insight, humor and vivid encounters are sure to enthrall. Baldrige is an exemplary role model for women because she opened doors by refusing to accept that they were closed. (Oct 15) Forecast: If this sells, which it should, it will be not for revealing any secrets about Jackie Kennedy but for Baldrige's own admirable life.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0670894532
• ISBN 13: 9780670894536
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 292