Kick: The True Story of Kick Kennedy, JFK's Forgotten Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth

By: Paula Byrne

Narrated by: Antonia Beamish

Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

The remarkable life of the vivacious, clever – and forgotten – Kennedy sister, who charmed the English aristocracy and was almost erased from her family history.

The favourite child of Joe Kennedy and favourite sister of Jack, Kick Kennedy was spirited, vivacious and legendary for her charm. When the Kenndys sailed to Britain in 1938 she was presented as a debutante amid the pre-war social whirl of the British aristocracy. Here she met a shy, tall, handsome man called Billy, and, rebelling against family, faith, and country, soon married him. He was William Cavendish, heir to Chatsworth and the Duke of Devonshire, the most eligible bachelor in England. But their days of married bliss proved short, as war would bring tragedy and loss.

Uncovering her spectacular life in full for the first time, Paula Byrne depicts a remarkable woman who bewitched the Churchills, Astors and Mitfords, and yet was almost erased from Kennedy family history.

©2016 Paula Byrne (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"A perceptive and energetic guide.... Bold, fast-moving and accessible." ( Daily Telegraph)
"Engaging, compelling, a delightful and engrossing book." ( Sunday Times)
"Brilliantly illuminating...riveting." (Simon Callow, Guardian)
"The portrait of that emerges is sparklingly multi-faceted, catching the light in intriguing ways." ( Mail on Sunday)

Fascinating sidelight on the Kennedy family

The upbringing of the children is really interesting, especially the roles the parents allotted themselves. Strange though, that Joe Kennedy's part in Prohibition and the fortune he made from it is not mentioned. A minor irritant is the way Cliveden is mispronounced throughout - I would have thought an English narrator would know that it is Cliv-den, not Clive-den.

Mediocre

Paula Byrne has written a book which is readable enough, although it wasn't a 'page-turner'. She documents Kathleen's early life of privilege and everything money could buy, and clearly brings out her vivacity and charisma. The tone inevitably changes as Kick's life is blighted by the various tragedies which she experienced toward the end of her short life. I had two problems with Beamish's narration. 1. Some narrators are a pleasure to listen to and some are not - Beamish for me is in the latter category but that's merely subjective and probably irrelevant. 2. Her mispronunciations really detract and distract from the content. Those I committed to memory in my irritation were Maginot, egregious, Cliveden, beguine, Roosevelt (sometimes rooz and sometimes rose), and mores (as in societal norms). Anyway, I think I learned more about Kathleen Kennedy from Barbara Parry's 'Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch' (audible.com version).