No Way to Treat a First Lady

A Novel

By: Christopher Buckley

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Christopher Buckley, the best-selling author of the comic classics The White House Mess and Thank You for Smoking, returns to the funniest place in America: Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Tyler MacMann, the first lady of the United States, has been charged with killing her philandering husband, the President of the United States. In the midst of a bedroom spat, she allegedly hurled a historic Paul Revere spittoon at him, with tragic results. The attorney general has no choice but to put the First Lady on trial for assassination.

The media has never warmed to Beth MacMann (her nickname in the tabloids is “Lady Bethmac”), and as America girds for a scandalous, sensational trial, Beth reaches out to the only defense attorney she trusts, Boyce “Shameless” Baylor, who charges $1,000 an hour and has represented a Who’s Who of scoundrels: murderous running backs, society wife-killers, Los Alamos spies, and national security sellouts.

Why Boyce Baylor? Because Beth loved him once, when they were law students. Boyce wanted to marry her, but Beth chose the future President instead. Now, after all these years, Boyce has a second chance. To what lengths will a shameless lawyer go to win the Trial of the Millennium and regain the love of his life?

Buckley has been described by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as “one of the best and surest political humorists in America” and by Entertainment Weekly as “a superb writer of politically incorrect satire.” No Way to Treat a First Lady is flat-out hilarious. And furthermore, it’s a love story for our time.

Don't miss Christopher Buckley, Steve Martin, and other humorists discussing their craft at the New Yorker Festival.

©2002 Christopher Buckley (P)2002 Books On Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A wild romp of silliness and irreverence that's sure to please political junkies." (Booklist)

"This clever, gleeful satire...sets a high comic standard." (The New York Times)

"Unspeakably and endlessly funny. Unless you're a former president...Wicked humorist Buckley shoots fish in a barrel and makes them dance." (Kirkus, starred)

"The lurid sexual excesses of the late 90's provide plenty of comic fodder for Buckley's latest satire, which doubles as a legal thriller…The political humor is first-rate as usual, as Buckley has plenty of fun with the slimy, silly mess that is Beltway politics. This is one of his better efforts, which should keep Buckley on the "A' list of American satirists." (Publishers Weekly lead review)

A well read and witty romp.

The reader's voice was perfect for the deadpan humor, and the cute story kept me smiling during my commute.

Absolutely GREAT!!!

You really just can't "put it down". The last time I gave 5 stars to a book was 4 years ago, and finaly this book is worth 5 and more.
It has satire (smart), mystery (which is constantly developing! a thriller!), romance (not over or under done), and the rare thing is that they all work together without weakening the book. Worth reading!

Witty and funny

Had a good time with this audiobook , I definitively recommend it. In addition to that Grover Gardnes does a great job with that wonderful voice of his.

Very entertaining!

Gardner is a great narrator! The dialogue is extremely cleaver and engaging. Twists and turns. Great read!

grover is almost always great

Grover does a great job narrating and the story is fun.

Buckley Is As Funny As He Is Original

I love Buckley's novels because they are entirely unique, extremely witty and always keep me up late finishing them. It may be true that the novels rarely end as cleverly as they begin, but the ride is well worth it!

Laugh out loud funny

This is my first adventure with Christopher Buckley but it will not be the last. Perfect skewering of the foibles and excesses of the political and entertainment world. Spot on with the perfect amount of snark. Only problem that I had was remembering that I was listening to Boyce Boyd not not another of Grover Gardner's lawyers Andy Carpenter. I was hooked from the beginning

political satire with no peer

If you're looking for the next tome on what's wrong with the world, how to make money without trying, or by-the-numbers sadists trying to destroy the world, you need Christopher Buckley to teach you how to listen to a book and just LAUGH. Oh, the rest of us need it too. The guy is hilarious. I don't recommend driving while you listen, it could be hazardous to your health. If you have no sense of humour, don't waste your money because you'll hate it, but maybe Buckley can teach you something about enjoying your life more.

Entertaining and funny

This was an enjoyable trip into the private life of the President and First Lady. I found myself laughing out loud while listening. The mix of mystery and light hearted comedy was very refreshing and entertaining. I didn't need to strain and follow many different and confusing characters and plots, just sit back and enjoy the entertainment. The main character of Boyce Baylor was a combination of wealthy arrogance, humor and sarcasm. This character reminds me very much of Andy Carpenter in the David Rosenfelt books. In fact, both authors have used Grover Gardner as the reader who is great. Mr. Gardner does a wonderful job of switching characters and really had me convinced that he was that character. I think Mr. Gardner has really found his niche as the wise cracking, sarcastic rich attorney as well as the other colorful characters of the story. After listening to all of David Rosenfelt's books, I felt starved for more of the type of humor and mystery mix and found it in this book. Please mr. Buckley, give us more of the Boyce Baylor character and use the excellent reading of Grover Gardner. Loved it!

A great listen!

I could not foresee the many (most entertaining) twists and turns. The story kept me engaged from the beginning to the end, and made me chuckle and even laugh out loud.