Dear Mrs. Kennedy: The World Shares Its Grief, Letters November 1963
Jay Mulvaney, Paul De AngelisOverview
From the bestselling author of Kennedy Weddings and Diana and Jackie comes a powerful and moving collection of the condolence letters Jacqueline Kennedy received after the assassination of John F. Kennedy
In the weeks and months following the assassination of her husband, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy received more than one million letters. The impact of President Kennedy’s death was so immense that people from every station in life wrote to her, sharing their feelings of sympathy, sorrow, and hope.
She received letters from political luminaries such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., and Charles De Gaulle. Hollywood stars like Lauren Bacall, Vivian Leigh, and Gene Kelly voiced their sympathy, as did foreign dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II, the King and Queen of Greece, and the Prince of Monaco. Distinguished members of the arts and society—Ezra Pound, Noel Coward, Babe Paley, Langston Hughes, Oleg Cassini, Josephine Baker—offered their heartfelt condolences. And children, with the most heartbreaking sincerity, reached out to the First Lady to comfort her in her time of grief.
More than just a compendium of letters, Dear Mrs. Kennedy uses these many voices to tell the unforgettable story of those fateful four days in November, when the world was struck with shock and sadness. It vividly captures the months that followed, as a nation—-and a family—-attempted to rebuild.
Filled with emotion, patriotism, and insight, the letters are a poignant time capsule of one of the seminal events of the twentieth century. Dear Mrs. Kennedy offers a diverse portrait not only of the aftermath of the assassination, but of the Kennedy mystique that continues to captivate the world.
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of Kennedy Weddings and Diana and Jackie comes a powerful and moving collection of the condolence letters Jacqueline Kennedy received after the assassination of John F. Kennedy
In the weeks and months following the assassination of her husband, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy received more than one million letters. The impact of President Kennedy’s death was so immense that people from every station in life wrote to her, sharing their feelings of sympathy, sorrow, and hope.
She received letters from political luminaries such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., and Charles De Gaulle. Hollywood stars like Lauren Bacall, Vivian Leigh, and Gene Kelly voiced their sympathy, as did foreign dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II, the King and Queen of Greece, and the Prince of Monaco. Distinguished members of the arts and society—Ezra Pound, Noel Coward, Babe Paley, Langston Hughes, Oleg Cassini, Josephine Baker—offered their heartfelt condolences. And children, with the most heartbreaking sincerity, reached out to the First Lady to comfort her in her time of grief.
More than just a compendium of letters, Dear Mrs. Kennedy uses these many voices to tell the unforgettable story of those fateful four days in November, when the world was struck with shock and sadness. It vividly captures the months that followed, as a nation—-and a family—-attempted to rebuild.
Filled with emotion, patriotism, and insight, the letters are a poignant time capsule of one of the seminal events of the twentieth century. Dear Mrs. Kennedy offers a diverse portrait not only of the aftermath of the assassination, but of the Kennedy mystique that continues to captivate the world.
The New York Times - Liesl Schillinger
The correspondence gathered in this book…testifies to the impact of Kennedy's life, and also offers, as the editors correctly observe, "a glimpse into the lost art of letter-writing"…Even the least polished letters have a powerful effect…
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
"We are numbed by the shock of Jack's death. Nothing we can say will console you. All we can do is to send you our best love." This brief note was written by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and his wife, but as this small book makes strikingly clear, response to President John F. Kennedy's assassination cut through strata of power and wealth. In fact, the outpouring of emotion was unprecedented: In the weeks following the November 1963 killing, more than 1,250,000 letters of sympathy were sent to former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and her children. Dear Mrs. Kennedy contains letters from both the famous and the unknown; Americans and people abroad; adults and children. Taps sounding on Camelot.
Publishers Weekly
"Never have I been so filled with revulsion, anger, and sorrow as when I heard of your husband's death," wrote Winston Churchill to Jackie Kennedy on November 24, 1963. And a fourth-grade Nebraska farm boy wrote to little Caroline Kennedy, "I am sorry to hear about your Daddy. God will take good care of him." Immediately after President Kennedy's assassination, more than 1,250,000 letters arrived at the White House from the famous and ordinary citizens alike, expressing their sorrow and sympathy for the president's young widow, Although she promised that the letters would be displayed at the Kennedy Library, they remained filed in a warehouse for decades until the opening of the library building. A controversial culling reducing the collection to 368,000 letters also delayed cataloguing of the letters until 1988. Mulvaney ((Diana and Jackie) and former publishing executive De Angelis regard the collection as a "poignant time capsule," and they include an informative historical backdrop for their selections, including letters from society queen Babe Paley, Rev. Billy Graham, and publisher Bennett Cerf, among many others. For those who relive the pain of the Kennedy assassination every November 22, this volume will provide company and perhaps some consolation. 20 b&w illus. (Nov.)Liesl Schillinger
The correspondence gathered in this book…testifies to the impact of Kennedy's life, and also offers, as the editors correctly observe, "a glimpse into the lost art of letter-writing"…Even the least polished letters have a powerful effect…—The New York Times
From the Publisher
In Praise of Dear Mrs. Kennedy“I thought I would never read another Kennedy book…. Anyone who cares about American history and the heart of the American people will want to read Dear Mrs. Kennedy.”—-Laurence Leamer, bestselling author of The Kennedy Women and Sons of Camelot
“You will not be able to put down this deeply moving, inspiring book.”—-Donald Spoto, author of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life
“A book for every bedside…These carefully selected letters of condolence take us back to a moment in history we would do well to revisit." —-Frances Kiernan, author of The Last Mrs. Astor
“A profound reflection into the eternal questions about God, the meaning of life, and how we as mere mortals deal with senseless, inexplicable tragedy.”—-Thomas Maier, author of The Kennedys: America’s Emeralds Kings
“Often-intense revelations of personal emotion…in reaction to an event that truly shocked the world.”—-Carl Sferrazza Anthony, author of The Kennedy White House