Kick

The acclaimed biography of the unconventional, nearly forgotten Kennedy sister who charmed the world and broke with her family for love.

Rose and Joe Kennedy’s children were the embodiment of ambitious, wholesome Americanism. Yet even within this group of overachievers, the irrepressible Kathleen stood out. Lively, charismatic, and blessed with graceful athleticism, the alluring socialite known as Kick effortlessly made friends and stole hearts.

When her father became ambassador to Great Britain in 1938, Kick charmed the nation with her unconventional attitude and easygoing humor. She would also shock and alienate her devout family by marrying the scion of a virulently anti-Catholic family— William Cavendish, the heir apparent of the Duke of Devonshire and Chatsworth. But the marriage would last only a few months; Billy was killed in combat in 1944, just four years before Kick’s own unexpected death in an airplane crash at twenty-eight.

Paula Byrne recounts this remarkable young woman’s life as never before, from her work at the Washington Times-Herald to her volunteering with the Red Cross in wartime England; and from her deep love of politics to her decision to renounce her faith for the man she loved. Sympathetic and compelling, Kick shines a spotlight on this feisty and unique Kennedy long relegated to the shadows of her legendary family’s history.