Jacqueline in Paris
A Novel
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4.3 • 13 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Captivating...Mah channels Kennedy and brings postwar Paris to life with exquisite detail and insight.” -- People
From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier’s college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story of love and betrayal, and the coming-of-age of an American icon – before the world knew her as Jackie.
In September 1949 Jacqueline Bouvier arrives in postwar Paris to begin her junior year abroad. She’s twenty years old, socially poised but financially precarious, and all too aware of her mother’s expectations that she make a brilliant match. Before relenting to family pressure, she has one year to herself far away from sleepy Vassar College and the rigid social circles of New York, a year to explore and absorb the luminous beauty of the City of Light. Jacqueline is immediately catapulted into an intoxicating new world of champagne and châteaux, art and avant-garde theater, cafés and jazz clubs. She strikes up a romance with a talented young writer who shares her love of literature and passion for culture – even though her mother would think him most unsuitable.
But beneath the glitter and rush, France is a fragile place still haunted by the Occupation. Jacqueline lives in a rambling apartment with a widowed countess and her daughters, all of whom suffered as part of the French Resistance just a few years before. In the aftermath of World War II, Paris has become a nest of spies, and suspicion, deception, and betrayal lurk around every corner. Jacqueline is stunned to watch the rise of communism – anathema in America, but an active movement in France – never guessing she is witnessing the beginning of the political environment that will shape the rest of her life—and that of her future husband.
Evocative, sensitive, and rich in historic detail, Jacqueline in Paris portrays the origin story of an American icon. Ann Mah brilliantly imagines the intellectual and aesthetic awakening of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, and illuminates how France would prove to be her one true love, and one of the greatest influences on her life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mah (The Lost Vintage) imagines the education of Jacqueline Bouvier in 1949 Paris in this sumptuous outing. As a Vassar student studying abroad, Jacqueline is conscious of her behavior and ever mindful of her mother's advice to keep up appearances, as she mingles with aristocratic French families. Though a visit with her purported Bouvier relatives falls short of the illustrious family connections her grandfather boasted about, Jacqueline revels in French culture. While residing with a widowed French countess and her daughters, Jacqueline becomes concerned by the countess' frequent nightmares. She learns the horrors the countess witnessed after being sent to a concentration camp for her involvement with the resistance. Meanwhile, Jacqueline enjoys her friendship with Paul de Ganay, the son of an aristocratic family, who reminds her of the ever-shifting political factions and the danger of mentioning communism in the wrong crowd. As Jacqueline becomes involved with writer Jack Marquand, she becomes concerned by his increasingly tense behavior and fears that he may be a member of the Communist Party, though he claims his affiliation with party members is purely for research. Mah brings insight and vivid details to young Jacqueline Bouvier's adventurous spirit. Historical fiction fans will be drawn like moths to a flame.
Customer Reviews
Jacqueline in Paris
Ann Mah writes with historical accuracy. She creates a plausible story about Kennedy before her international fame. Mah writes about Kennedy’s academia, curiosity, and humanity.