From the Publisher
[A] brilliant and sympathetic biography. . . sentence by sentence, the book is a joy: a fresh take on the exceedingly well-worn theme of the Kennedy family…Byrne recounts the dramas of the end of [Kick’s] life with great pace and a poignancy that is all the more affecting for not being overdone.” — The Guardian
“A story involving youth, wealth, fame, soaring possibilities and wrenching heartbreak. . . . Readers. . . will learn much about an extraordinarily appealing young Irish Catholic woman. . . Kick, Kennedy’s charismatic second daughter, [who] quickly took a charmed circle of British aristocrats by storm.” — Washington Post
“Paula Byrne brings J.F.K.’s adored little sister, Kick, back to life.” — Vanity Fair
“An engrossing read.” — New York Post
“Heartrending. . . . An exciting, heartbreakingly tense love story.” — Kirkus
“Byrne successfully fuses letters, diary entries, and anecdotes from family and friends to animate Kick’s personality and the pivotal points of her short life. . . . [Kick] will especially attract readers with an interest in American and English political dynasties and will have widespread appeal to fans of biographies.” — Library Journal
“This is a great, thorough look into a not-often discussed member of the Kennedy family, and should absolutely be on your list as you kick-off summer reading!” — The Reading Nook, blog review
Library Journal
Byrne successfully fuses letters, diary entries, and anecdotes from family and friends to animate Kick’s personality and the pivotal points of her short life…This title will especially attract readers with an interest in American and English political dynasties and will have widespread appeal to fans of biographies.”
Guardian (London)
Brilliant…Sentence by sentence, the book is a joy: a fresh take on the exceedingly well-worn theme of the Kennedy family…Byrne recounts the dramas of the end of [Kick’s] life with great pace and a poignancy that is all the more affecting for not being overdone.”
Kirkus Reviews
Heartrending…An exciting, heartbreakingly tense love story.”
The Reading Nook
This is a great, thorough look into a not-often discussed member of the Kennedy family, and should absolutely be on your list as you kick-off summer reading!
Vanity Fair
Paula Byrne brings J.F.K.’s adored little sister, Kick, back to life.
The Guardian
[A] brilliant and sympathetic biography. . . sentence by sentence, the book is a joy: a fresh take on the exceedingly well-worn theme of the Kennedy family…Byrne recounts the dramas of the end of [Kick’s] life with great pace and a poignancy that is all the more affecting for not being overdone.
Washington Post
A story involving youth, wealth, fame, soaring possibilities and wrenching heartbreak. . . . Readers. . . will learn much about an extraordinarily appealing young Irish Catholic woman. . . Kick, Kennedy’s charismatic second daughter, [who] quickly took a charmed circle of British aristocrats by storm.
New York Post
An engrossing read.
Washington Post
A story involving youth, wealth, fame, soaring possibilities and wrenching heartbreak. . . . Readers. . . will learn much about an extraordinarily appealing young Irish Catholic woman. . . Kick, Kennedy’s charismatic second daughter, [who] quickly took a charmed circle of British aristocrats by storm.
New York Post
An engrossing read.
Kirkus Reviews
2016-04-13
The Kennedys all kept journals, and Byrne (Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice, 2014, etc.) uses them to the fullest in this biography of Kathleen, aka Kick (1920-1948). In the first half of the book, the author relies heavily on those journals, and the narrative occasionally gets bogged down in Kick's lists of people she met, what she wore, and where she went. Thankfully for readers, she met the most famous people, wore the most beautiful clothes, and went to all the best parties. Byrne highlights the importance of Kick's close attachment and similar character to her brother, Jack, nearest to her in age. Her father, Joseph, was named ambassador to the Court of St. James, mostly to get him out of Franklin Roosevelt's hair. He and his family were loved and celebrated all over England, and the English men adored Kick. She encouraged them all without any intention of forming a deeper relationship—until she met Billy Cavendish, heir to the dukedom of Devonshire, which included Chatsworth and castles in Ireland, Scotland, Yorkshire, and Sussex. Joe Kennedy's statement that the British Empire was at an end and could never withstand Hitler put an end to his ambassadorship as well as his career. The story gets most interesting as Kick and Billy fall in love and face their insurmountable religious differences. The original Duke of Devonshire set the familial pattern of hatred of Catholics. The author follows the war years in which the couple searched for loopholes. She could never give up her faith, and Billy had the responsibility of many Church of England parish benefices. The story is heartrending as Kick returns to the U.S., Billy gets engaged to another, and the war rages on. At first, the book is less a biography and more a society report of England's upper class, but it evolves into an exciting, heartbreakingly tense love story.
