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

‘Byrne conjures such a vivid portrait of her enchanting heroine that one almost feels deprived never having met her’ Daily Mail, Book of the Week

‘Byrne is engagingly smitten with her subject … 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 her life with great pace and a poignancy that is all the more affecting for not being overdone’ Guardian

‘Byrne does a fine job rescuing Kick from undeserved obscurity, providing an important chapter to the story of this dazzling doomed dynasty’ The Times

‘Sparkling … fast-paced … transfixing’ Sunday Times

‘This absolutely enthralling biography is written by an expert hand… Her narrative is deceptively easy and fluid, cleverly belying the enormous weight and variety of her source materials’ Irish Independent

‘An exciting, heartbreakingly tense love story’ Kirkus Review

‘Written with panache … as engaging as its subject’ Sunday Express

‘A fun-loving American charms the English aristocracy with her wit and sangfroid, overcoming prejudice to win the heart of London’s most eligible bachelor … Paula Byrne … recaptures her brief but fascinating story’ Vogue

‘This very sad story is at the heart of Paula Byrne's excellent biography … supported by impressive research’ Financial Times

‘Sympathetic and faced-paced … Byrne’s portrait of the Kennedy’s at home is transfixing’ Sunday Times

‘A compelling biography … Byrne is to be commended for handling the formidable task with aplomb. She has produced a lively work … allowing [Kick’s] warmth, charisma and legendary vitality to shine through’ Country Life

‘Absolutely enthralling … Paula Byrne's narrative is deceptively easy and fluid cleverly belying the enormous weight and variety of her resource material’ Irish Independent

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).