Jackie and Maria
A Novel of Jackie Kennedy & Maria Callas
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4.4 • 173 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Wife comes a story of love, passion, and tragedy as the lives of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas are intertwined—and they become the ultimate rivals, in love with the same man.
The President's Wife; a Glamorous Superstar; the rivalry that shook the world...
Jackie Kennedy was beautiful, sophisticated, and contemplating leaving her ambitious young senator husband. Life in the public eye with an overly ambitious--and unfaithful—man who could hardly be coaxed to return from a vacation after the birth of a stillborn child was breaking her spirit. So when she's offered a holiday on the luxurious yacht owned by billionaire Ari Onassis, she says yes...to a meeting that will ultimately change her life.
Maria Callas is at the height of her operatic career and widely considered to be the finest soprano in the world. And then she's introduced to Aristotle Onassis, the world’s richest man and her fellow Greek. Stuck in a childless, sexless marriage, and with pressures on all sides from opera house managers and a hostile press, she finds her life being turned upside down by this hyper-intelligent and impeccably charming man...
Little by little, Maria’s and Jackie’s lives begin to overlap, and they come closer and closer until everything they know about the world changes on a dime.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Paul (The Lost Daughter) is at her best in this irresistible tale of the two complex and glamorous women closest to Greek billionaire Aristotle "Ari" Onassis. Opera diva Maria Callas began an affair with Onassis in 1958, which continued until 1968, the year former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Onassis. Paul chronicles major events in both women's lives skillfully, whether it's JFK's assassination or Callas performing Aida at Italy's legendary La Scala Opera House. Paul brings a humanizing touch to Jackie's heartbreaks with JFK, including their stillborn daughter Arabella and their son Patrick, who lived two days after a premature birth in 1963, as well as to the story of Callas's rumored son, Omero, named here by Ari after Homer, who dies shortly after his birth from lung failure ("She wanted to spend time with her little boy and memorize every inch of him before they took him away forever"). Paul shines in the small details about her larger-than-life characters, including the legendary soprano's self-consciousness about her weight and subsequent dramatic weight loss, and Jacqueline Kennedy's later life as a book editor. Paul's pitch-perfect ear for dialogue, elegant prose, and sound plotting combine to create a sensational and spellbinding package.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating
Loved this book! I love all of Gill Paul’s books but this was my favorite. I didn’t want it to end.
Too much fiction
While I was reading this book I felt like everything in it was true. I’ve read lots of books on Jackie which is why I downloaded this book. However, when I read all the stuff at the end that the author “made up” it felt like I was reading non truths about real people (not fictional characters). I do not recommend unless you want to read fantasy.
Read about two famous divas….breathtaking!
This is a wonderful in-depth story that is personalized and touching. I highly recommend that one read this touching story about three famous persons.