The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters: The Tragic and Glamorous Lives of Jackie and Lee

New York Times–Bestseller: “A lush picture of the complicated relationship between . . . Jackie Onassis and Lee Radziwill. . . . Gossipy gems are studded throughout.” —Vanity Fair

When sixty-four-year-old Jackie Kennedy Onassis died in her Fifth Avenue apartment, her younger sister Lee wept inconsolably. Then Jackie’s thirty-eight-page will was read. Lee discovered that substantial cash bequests were left to family members, friends, and employees—but nothing to her. I have made no provision in this my Will for my sister, Lee B. Radziwill, for whom I have great affection, because I have already done so during my lifetime, read Jackie’s final testament.

Drawing on the authors’ candid interviews with Lee Radziwill, The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters explores their complex relationship. In life, Jackie and Lee were alike in so many ways. Both women had a keen eye for beauty—in fashion, design, painting, music, dance, sculpture, poetry—and both were talented artists. Both loved pre-revolutionary Russian culture, and the blinding sunlight, calm seas, and ancient olive groves of Greece. Both heard the siren call of the Atlantic, sharing sweet early memories of swimming with the rakish father they adored at his East Hampton retreat. But Jackie was her father’s favorite, and Lee, her mother’s. One would grow to become the most iconic woman of her time, while the other lived in her shadow. As they grew up, the two sisters developed an extremely close relationship threaded with rivalry, jealousy, and competition. Yet it was probably the most important relationship of their lives.

For the first time, the complete story of these larger-than-life sisters is told. Drawing on new information and extensive interviews with Lee, this dual biography sheds light on the public and private lives of two extraordinary women who lived through immense tragedy in enormous glamour.

Includes photographs

“[An] intricate chronicle rife with romance, tragedy, and surprising details, such as that Jackie may have helped choose JFK’s paramours.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Taut and fascinating.” —In Style

“Suffice it to say, more than fifty years on, explorations of the truths and fictions of Camelot continue to mesmerize.” —Kirkus Reviews

© 2024 Harper (Ebook): 9780062365002

Release date

Ebook: February 27, 2024