Happy Times

by Lee Radziwill

Leafing through a wealth of private photo albums and personal archives, Lee Radziwill offers a unique perspective of happy from the first trip to Europe and the Bouvier sisters to fond memories of Christmas in Palm Beach with President Kennedy, from her years in London to summer days in Conca, Lee Radziwill has enjoyed a very colorful and successful life. She brings alive, with humor and feeling, privileged moments with family and friends. Happy Times is the credo of a lady who, having witnessed historical moments and shared the lives of characters struck by fate, has made the deliberate choice of only remembering what’s beautiful. Through anecdotes and pictures, personal notes and drawings, Happy Times offers readers a very personal perspective on a highly publicized life.

Genres: Biography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction, Fashion, History, Politics

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

Caroline Lee Radziwiłł was an American socialite, public-relations executive, and interior decorator. She was the younger sister of the late First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Her niece Caroline Bouvier Kennedy was named after her.

Reviews

[Daniel Myatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and honest reflections of a glamorous life.

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have to feel sorry for siblings of terrifically famous people. Unless they re incredibly grounded, they spend most of their lives trying to be "good enough." And so it is with Lee Radziwill, the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She was never quite pretty enough, her husband didn't quite measure up and her artistic endeavors while adequate were never going to make her a world class artist in any field.

This is too bad because in many ways this is a charming book - especially the excerpts from One Special Summer the memoir of the summer in 1951 she spent in Europe with her sister. Ms. Radziwill has lived a life that most people would envy. IT's just too bad she doesn't realize it.

[Craig Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy Times by Lee Radziwill was a small yet hefty coffee-table book published in 2000, filled with photos and drawings of and by its author, who died on February 15. Radziwill was an extraordinarily beautiful woman and spent the 1960's, the decade on which this book was focussed (with a few spillovers into the early seventies) hobnobbing with Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, and her Kennedy and Onassis in-laws. Candid colour and black-and-white photos filled the book along with equally revealing commentaries by Radziwill. She takes the reader into her luxurious homes and on her trips around the world. It was a delight to read.

The end of the book reprinted colour excerpts from the booklet she wrote and illustrated with her older sister Jacqueline Bouvier, One Special Summer. Jacqueline, aged 21, and Lee, 18, embarked on an unchaperoned trip to Europe in the summer of 1951. Their drawings and observations had me in stitches. For example, while on the trans-Atlantic voyage, they encountered a certain "Fausi Shehadi who is about 35 or 40--from Lebanon--and very much resembles Ali Khan. It's like having a flirtatious puppy around and we simply send him off to do all our errands. However I do think he has deeper motives and Jackie has warned me about the quirks in the sex lives of Near Easterners!!" The Bouvier sisters have one mishap after another and Lee quite literally loses her knickers at a fancy ball.

Radziwill's memory faulted her on at least two occasions. Her account of John F. Kennedy's visit with French President Charles de Gaulle, when she accompanied Jacqueline, took place in 1961, not 1960. Also, her daughter Tina must have been christened in Westminster Cathedral, not as she stated in Westminster Abbey, as the Radziwill family was Roman Catholic.

Only after I finished the book did I wonder why she dedicated it only to her daughter Tina. Her son Anthony was featured throughout Happy Times. Sadly, Anthony died of cancer in 1999.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the glimpse into another life that this book offered. It made me want to make a list of "Life Enhancing" and "Life Diminishing" things (Bernard Berenson) and one of the Life Enhancing things would be reading a book like this and reflecting on what is important and what creates a memory of Happy Times. Nice weather, family, dogs and kids, a nice meal al fresco, no sense of time but just of relaxing, humor, a tradition, beautiful things and places. For me, this book produced the same lazy, dreamy feeling as Enchanted April or the photography of Slim Aarons.

[Yolo Yearwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. It was a tiny glimpse of the world of Jackie O's sister, fluffy and not a lot of substance, and her decor, oh my goodness at the gaud!

[Kathy B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful glimpse into an amazing life.

[Desiree Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly curated look at arguably the most stylish woman of her generation (yes even more so than her famous sister Jackie). Absolutely iconic. Truely captures her glamorous, free spirit.

[The Contented · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun holiday read with just the right amount of text

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely not what you would expect from the sister of one of the most famous women in the world. The book is put together more like a scrapbook. No great insight here.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly a scrapbook, with pics and popular names. Lee and her sister Jackie, their kids, husband's and carefree, wealthy lives.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee Bouvier Radziwill records here in photos and text the happy times she shared with her more famous sister and that sister's presidential husband. Her choice to focus only on the positive is an interesting idea, and the candid photos of those experiences were my favorite part of this book. Another delightful element is the inclusion at the end of _One Special Summer_, the illustrated story of the two young sisters' travels abroad.

This was a case when I wanted to have the ability for half-star ratings so I could give this three and a half. I'm not sure it deserves four, and yet three seems unfair for such an original experience. There is nothing _wrong_ with the book. She's had an interesting life and rubbed elbows with interesting people, but I was hoping for more and more interestingly said. Possibly this was not the fault of the book and simply the fault of my own expectations.

This book will appeal to those who are fascinated by the Kennedys, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Peter Beard, _Grey Gardens_, that iconic American (and European) era, and gorgeous black and white photos.

[Mary Schaenzer Berls · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great light read if you have an afternoon to curl up at Borders with a pot of tea. While Lee Radziwill had a lifetime of wealth and priviledge...this is an amazing glimpse into her life in the 1960s...from renting the bishop's home for summers on the Amalfi coast of Naples, summers in Greece and Palm Beach, to their 50 acre estate in Turnville, England, their home Buckingham "Place" directly across the street from Buckingham Palace, and a penthouse on Park Avenue (today the University of Fine Arts) all with a family orientated background of children and cousins. A fun and interesting glimpse into a privileged life. Half photo album, half notebook...a light page turner for a rainy afternoon.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in a quick, entertaining, light-hearted yet interesting book, then "Happy Times" is for you. This book is a collection of non-fiction short stories from Lee Radziwell that takes place during the 60s and 70s. Of course her sister, Jackie Kennedy, is in most stories, but Truman Capote, Andy Warhol and more share in her joys. Places around the world are also backdrops to great times such as Southhampton, London, Amalfi, India, and more. Not only are the stories enjoyable, but the pictures and illustrations are fantastic too. The book is more of a photo album with the written word explaining them.

[Kricket · Rating 3 out of 5]

this personal scrapbook of socialite lee bouvier radziwill is fun to read through, albeit not particularly thrilling. she talks about interior decor a lot, and also her famous friends. name-dropping abounds. they went to this fancy place. they had dinner with these important people. the drapes were lettuce green. the narrative just skims along the surface of radziwill's life, not going into much detail or delving into the family's terrible losses. a relaxing read.

[Cdoming3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more of a coffee table book - but one that you read from cover to cover. Written just after her son died, this book only covers happy memories with beautiful photos of a time gone by. For lovers of all things Jackie and Lee - it's a must own.

[tana · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good window to history; no one that picks this pick up can pretend that they don't know what it is about. Look at the cover for gods sake; even if you don't know who the woman is - the photo is quite telling.

[Kelley Tackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

delightful book. great pictures and story.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a life! Inspired to read this after reading the Times article. Beautiful pictures and great conversational text.

[Julie Faust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really lovely coffee table book. Loved the drawings from her trip to Europe with Jackie.

[Lee Heffner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fluff

[Mercedes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read with lots of fun details.

[Kaen]

not as interesting as I thought it would be

[Nancymimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

cool book with lots of photos from her glamorous life.