Jacqueline in Paris : a novel

Title:

Author:

Mah, Ann, author.

Personal Author:

Mah, Ann, author.

ISBN:

9780062997012

9780062997029

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

342 pages ; 24 cm

Abstract:

August 1949. Jacqueline Bouvier arrives in postwar Paris to begin her junior year abroad. Socially poised but financially precarious, and all too aware of her mother's expectations that she make a brilliant match, she has one year to herself to explore and absorb the luminous beauty of the City of Light. She strikes up a romance with a young writer who shares her love of literature and passion for culture. But France is a fragile place still haunted by the Occupation: Paris has become a nest of spies, suspicion, and betrayal. Communism is anathema in America, but an active movement in France. This political environment will shape her life-- and that of her future husband. -- adapted from jacket

Personal Subject:

Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994-Fiction.

Subject Term:

Life change events -- Fiction.

Foreign study -- Fiction.

Women college students -- Fiction.

Communism -- Fiction.

Debutantes -- Fiction.

Elite (Social sciences) -- Fiction.

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Paris (France) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Biographical fiction.

Novels.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

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Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"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.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A delightful and surprisingly insightful novel follows the junior year abroad of Jacqueline Bouvier, a few years before she became Jackie Kennedy. Telling the story from the perspective of the young Jacqueline, with only a few flashes forward to her future life, Mah moves season by season through her year, beginning in the fall of 1949 and ending in the summer of 1950. Making good use of historical and biographical details, but not strictly bound by them, Mah follows her heroine from the ocean-liner journey where, as the sole Vassar student in the group, she gets to know the rowdy Smith students with whom she will be studying at the Sorbonne, on through her stay with a host family and her meetings with various French natives of whom her socially conscious mother would definitely not approve. Mah convincingly depicts this year as a pivotal one in Bouvier's life, both a sentimental and a political education. Jacqueline has her first real romantic and sexual affair with--and has her heart broken by--aspiring novelist John Marquand. And, after having been raised to view communism as strictly evil, she has her eyes opened to the complexities of international politics by her host mother, a concentration camp survivor, and her host sister, who may or may not be a spy. Mah, who clearly loves Paris and all the details of French living, affectionately and precisely captures life in the post--World War II city, with many deprivations but a spirit of hope. Her Jacqueline--bright, observant, and a little naïve--is an engaging and believable character, and it's easy to imagine how her experiences during this year will shape her future life. While Jackie runs into people the reader will recognize, Mah doesn't overstate their importance in her life: Novelist James Baldwin, for example, appears and quickly disappears as Jimmy, one of several writers she runs into in a nightclub. Staying within the consciousness of Jacqueline as she is at this point, Mah smoothly walks the line between biography and fiction. Fans of the former first lady and Paris should be beguiled. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.