The Princess and the First Lady

Summary

The Princess and the First Lady shines a light on the often forgotten story of the “other” Bouvier sister while deftly revealing the darker side of the seemingly picture-perfect Kennedy bride we all think we know.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis is an American icon who will forever be etched in history as the fashionable, elegant ex–First Lady. No one knows this better than her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill, who watches from the sidelines her entire life as her own place in the world is eclipsed by Jackie’s ever-rising star. 

Growing up under the critical eye of their avaricious mother, who always puts Jackie first and treats Lee as the runt of the litter, the sisters know from an early age that they are destined for different things in life. They are the best of friends, and sometimes, the worst of enemies.

Lee, more stylish and assertive, dreams of one day outshining her introverted, bookish elder sister. But that dream is forever dashed when Jackie rises to become the most famous woman in the world. Jackie, in turn, is told she has one purpose in life: marry up and marry rich. The favorite of their charming, roguish father, her trust in love is shattered when she discovers his philandering ways.

The Princess and the First Lady follows the intertwining narratives of Lee and Jackie over eight decades, painting an intimate portrait of the secret lives of these closest of sisters and the bitterest of rivals as they struggle to define themselves through the tumultuous twentieth century.