Kick: The True Story of Kick Kennedy, JFKs Forgotten Sister, and the Heir to Chatsworth

(Paperback)

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The remarkable life of the vivacious, clever and forgotten Kennedy sister, who charmed the English aristocracy and was almost erased from her family history.
The favourite child of Joe Kennedy and favourite sister of Jack, Kick Kennedy was spirited, vivacious and legendary for her charm. When the Kenndys sailed to Britain in 1938 she was presented as a debutante amid the pre-war social whirl of the British aristocracy. Here she met a shy, tall, handsome man called Billy, and, rebelling against family, faith, and country, soon married him. He was William Cavendish, heir to Chatsworth and the Duke of Devonshire, the most eligible bachelor in England. But their days of married bliss proved short, as war would bring tragedy and loss.

Uncovering her spectacular life in full for the first time, Paula Byrne depicts a remarkable woman who bewitched the Churchills, Astors and Mitfords, and yet was almost erased from Kennedy family history.

Reviews

Byrne conjures such a vivid portrait of her enchanting heroine that one almost feels deprived never having met her Daily Mail, Book of the Week

Byrne is engagingly smitten with her subject Sentence by sentence, the book is a joy: a fresh take on the exceedingly well-worn theme of the Kennedy family. Byrne recounts the dramas of the end of her life with great pace and a poignancy that is all the more affecting for not being overdone Guardian

Byrne does a fine job rescuing Kick from undeserved obscurity, providing an important chapter to the story of this dazzling doomed dynasty The Times

Sparkling fast-paced transfixing Sunday Times

This absolutely enthralling biography is written by an expert hand Her narrative is deceptively easy and fluid, cleverly belying the enormous weight and variety of her source materials Irish Independent

An exciting, heartbreakingly tense love story Kirkus Review

Written with panache as engaging as its subject Sunday Express

A fun-loving American charms the English aristocracy with her wit and sangfroid, overcoming prejudice to win the heart of Londons most eligible bachelor Paula Byrne recaptures her brief but fascinating story Vogue

This very sad story is at the heart of Paula Byrne's excellent biography supported by impressive research Financial Times

Sympathetic and faced-paced Byrnes portrait of the Kennedys at home is transfixing Sunday Times

A compelling biography Byrne is to be commended for handling the formidable task with aplomb. She has produced a lively work allowing [Kicks] warmth, charisma and legendary vitality to shine through Country Life

Absolutely enthralling Paula Byrne's narrative is deceptively easy and fluid cleverly belying the enormous weight and variety of her resource material Irish Independent

Author Bio

Paula Byrne was born in Birkenhead and has a PhD from the University of Liverpool, where she is a Research Fellow in English Literature. Her first book, Jane Austen and the Theatre, was shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize. Her second book, Perdita: The Life of Mary Robinson , the tale of the scandalous star of the 18th-century stage, literature and high-society, was a Richard and Judy bookclub pick. Her most recent book is Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead. The story of Evelyn Waugh's friendship with the extraordinary aristocratic family who inspired Brideshead Revisited, it was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. A regular contributor to the 'Times Literary Supplement', she lives in Warwickshire with her two young children and her husband, the critic and biographer Jonathan Bate.