The Importance of Being Kennedy

by Laurie Graham

A brilliant new novel by Laurie Graham set in wartime London, which follows Kick Kennedy, sister of future US President JFK, as she takes London society by storm.

Nora Brennan is a country girl from Westmeath. When she lands herself a position as nursery maid to a family in Brookline, Massachusetts, she little thinks it will place her at the heart of American history. But it's the Kennedy family. In 1917 Joseph Kennedy is on his way to his first million and he has plans to found a dynasty and ensure that his baby son, Joe Junior, will be the first Catholic President of the United States.

As nursemaid to all nine Kennedy children, Nora witnesses every moment, public and private. She sees the boys coached at their father's knee to believe everything they'll ever want in life can be bought. She sees the girls trained by their mother to be good Catholic wives. World War II changes everything.

At the outbreak of war the Kennedys are living the high life in London, where Joseph Kennedy is the American ambassador. His reaction is to send the entire household back across the Atlantic to safety, but Nora, surprised by midlife love, chooses to stay in England and do her bit. Separated from her Kennedys by an ocean she nevertheless remains the warm, approachable sun around which the older children Joe, Jack, Rosemary, and in particular Kick, who throws the first spanner in the Kennedy works by marrying an English Protestant.

Laurie Graham's poignant new novel views the Kennedys from below stairs, with the humour and candour that only an ex-nursemaid dare employ.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Family Drama, American, Book Club

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Laurie Graham was first published at the advanced age of 40. Gentle comedy is her style. She is the author of seventeen novels, including the best-selling The Future Homemakers of America and its sequel, The Early Birds

Mother of four, grandmother of many, Laurie is married to a New Yorker and lives in County Dublin, Ireland.

You can visit her website, read what she's up to and say hello at http://lauriegraham.com

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! I am a HUGE over the top fan of the Kennedy family. I find the whole dynamics of this family so interesting...the children...the raising of the children....the goals for the children....the parents involvement in their lives and these goals.
Well this fantastic author took the magnificance of the Kennedy family and created a fictional character of a nanny who comes to live with the family and help raise the children after the first son is born...and stays involved in their lives up through Jack Kennedy being elected a junior senator.
So much of the book was so dead on historically that it was difficult to remember that this wasn't a true account of someone close to the Kennedy family.
If you don't know much about the Kennedy family I'm not sure it would be as fantastic, but if you want to learn some about them it would be a great read!
I loved the growth of the nanny and her feelings for the children as well as her fly on the wall feelings towards Rose and Joe Kennedy (the parents). I loved this book so much that halfway through it (I checked it out of the library) I ordered a copy for myself because I knew I had to have it on my bookshelves :)

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a ficitonal look at the Kennedy clan through the eyes of their Irish immigrant nanny Nora Brennan who looked after them from 1917 when Joseph Patrick was a toddler and Jack (always a sickly child) was on the way until the funeral in England in 1948 of Kathleen (Kick) Kennedy after her death in a plane crash. Through Nora's memoirs we are given a behind the scenes look at the the Kennedys - Mr K's many money making ventures and philanderings and Rose Kennedy's heartless mothering, frequent absences and penny pinching and the proud and competitive spirit instilled in all 9 children from birth. The story takes us through Mr K's years as a Hollywood mogul to his years as ambassador to England (reward for backing the presidency of FDR) just before World War 2, all from the point of view of how these years affect the children. It is an enjoyable blending of fact and fiction and a hugely entertaining read.

[Carah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed Laurie Graham's writing again, loved the heroine. Wished she had continued on with the story a little bit farther, but thought the bits she did cover were wonderful. I liked that Graham wrote from a nanny's point of view; gave us some (fictional) insights into personalities we will never personally know!

[zespri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful book about the Kennedy family is written from the perspective of Nora, the Kennedy's nurserymaid. Her journey with the family takes us from the birth of all nine Kennedy children, through their childhoods, and into adulthood. We view the trials and traumas of being Kennedy through Nora's eyes, and having Googled to check on various facts in the book - Nora's view seems pretty accurate!

Loved this book, Laurie Graham never disappoints, and she is a joy to read.

[Barbra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.....very much along the lines of ‘Gone with the Windsors’. Please Laurie Graham, write more of this type of novel.....they are wonderful.
Young Irish Nora Brennan goes to America in 1917 and starts a job as nursemaid to the Kennedy family. Nursemaid to all nine Kennedy children she witnesses all of the famous family’s life, both public and private. Great witty dialogue, the characters bought to life with comedy and sadness....thoroughly enjoyed this read.....

[Lisa Bywell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good thing Lauren Graham is a prolific writer; I can’t enough of her razor sharp wit. Especially when it’s directed at rich, irresponsible, hypocritical, social climbers. In this case, the Kennedys.

[Vicki Tashman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I thought the writing was great and very engaging. I was interested in all the characters and felt the pain when some of the Kennedy kids died. What an amazing family in all their ups and downs, manipulations and desires.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

A big yawn and hard to finish. Not big on historical fiction and this one was a big miss.

[Linda Burnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is it about an Irish narrator that instantly makes an amusing story even more enjoyable, the satire even more comedic? I took great pleasure in reading this book, the second Laurie Graham that I have read, hearing Nora's lilt in my head. Nora is the fictional nanny to the nine Kennedy children and she tells her story with a great deal of heart and characteristically Irish deprecating wit. The young Kennedys are as if her own children (or weans as she terms them), especially given the emotional distance of their mother and the often geographical distance of their father and, due to the sheer breadth of ages she is involved in their lives for over twenty years to see them from cradle to young adulthood. She is present at births, a marriage, and is on hand when war is declared and deaths occur; she lives in Ireland, the U.S. and the U.K.; rubs shoulders with aristocracy and royalty and witnesses events unfold from both above and below 'stairs'. She gives her views on the parenting styles of the senior Kennedys and draws some conclusions as to its effect on the lives, and untimely deaths of some, of their offspring. No prior knowledge of Kennedy 'lore' is necessary to find this an utterly enjoyable, insightful and engaging read.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in high school when JFK was president. I loved the Kennedy style; they changed the white house from frumpy and old fashioned to youthful and cosmopolitan. The media gave us lots of stories of the family's outdoor life sylye, I especially loved that the girls joined in the touch football games. With this book a darker side of the family is shown; both parents were totally controlling, Joe prepping the sons for political office and Rose keeping a tight Catholic rein on the girls. The story of Rosemary (or Rose Marie as she's called in the book)is sadder than what we were led to believe. Did they really give her a lobotomy? I know it was considered a proper procedure at the time (gruesomely medieval as it was) but from the fictional nursery maid's viewpoint it was unnecessary. Mother Rose had the media believing that Rosemary was "retarded" from birth, but the picture of her mental state in the book is of a slight learning disability with poor social skills. The descriptions of Bobby and Teddy are very interesting as contrasted to the public perception.

[Leanne Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Written from the point of view of the nanny of the Kennedy family during the depression and the second world war. So very interesting and engagingly written - trouble is with all historic fiction is I don't know what was true and what wasn't...Set mostly in London, it provides an interesting insight (albeit fictitious to a point) between that which American "aristocracy" and that of Britain held dear during the 30's and 40's.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good recommendation - thanks Leanne! The early lives of the Kennedy brothers and sisters as told by their nanny. I agree that it's difficult to know what's reality and what's fiction but interesting nevertheless. I enjoyed the fact that a lot focused on the eldest sister, of whom I knew very little. Very readable.

[Heather Hyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very easy read and the insight into the Kennedy lives is interesting and easily followed. However when the make-believe Nanny leaves the Kennedy employ it becomes a story of her life with just snippets of the Kennedys after this and it's quite tedious in places, not really a Laurie Graham fan and this has really just compounded it!

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

humerous insight into the Kennedy family --this is fiction so the jacket says but it makes me wonder how much is based on Truth and actuality. i dont knwow why but i made anot that it tok me 6 days to read so maybe it was an easy book to put down.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite as funny as "Gone with the Windsors" but just as enjoyable. A different spin on the Kennedy saga - narrated by the Kennedy children's fictional nanny. Interesting insight on some of the more forgotten Kennedy girls - Rose Marie and Kathleen, both of whom had rather tragic lives.

[Caroline Curran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting to read an account of the Kennedy family from an employee perspective. I've read a lot about the family and really enjoyed the historical attention to detail that this book had to offer. Highly recommended.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book!! I had no idea some of this stuff actually happened! you will end up being educated and entertained all at the same time!

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cool little book! Yes, it's fiction, but filled with so much interesting information. I love the way Graham set it up, and the way she has the various characters interact with each other.

[Mwalsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Historical fiction at its best. Great summer beach read.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the title which attracted me to this book and what a fabulous read it turned out to be. The narrator, fictional Irish nanny, Nora Brennan tells the story of the nine Kennedy children who grow up in her care. She describes historical events such as a visit from the Pope, an evening with the King and Queen and the war years in London. This is such an intriguing depiction of the Kennedy clan which has encouraged me to read much more about the formidable matriarch Rose, vulnerable Rosie and charismatic Kick in particular.

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read from Laurie Graham. One way or another The Kennedys hold a certain fascination for most of us. I wonder where all nine children would have ended up had their parents, Joe senior and Rose not been so scheming and manipulative. In my eyes, not a happy family and they certainly had more than their share of tragedy. Once again I enjoyed Laurie Graham's writing and she's included many events true to the history of the Kennedys.

[Cindy DavisClark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the fictional story of a nurse maid for the Kennedy family. She worked for the Kennedy's as a live in nurse maid for all the children. It was written as a story taken from her diary. It's more of a laundry list of occurrences from the birth of Joe to the death of Kick (Kathleen) after World War II. I did not really feel engaged by the main character Nora and this made it a slow read.

[Briggitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Being a Kennedy family history buff I found the attention to certain details about their life in this novel wonderful. It was funny, heartbreaking, frustrating, and, being historical fiction and taking everything with a grain a salt, pretty realistic. It was just a pleasant read as a window to an idyllic time in history. Would definitely recommend.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel about the Kennedys is Laurie Graham at her best. Young Nora is third in line of sisters helping each other leave Ireland and move to America. Nora's voice and satirical thought bubble comments make this novel go from good to great. While the reader learns all about the raising of nine Kennedy children, the most enchanting part is Nora's own life.

[Ros Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very ‘wholesome’ fictional read written from one of the Kennedy offsprings (9!) nanny’s perspective. There is obviously quite a lot of factual stuff too which I found interesting. This is my third Laurie Graham read & I recommend her.

[Alice Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

#52books2018 number 58: The Importance of Being Kennedy by Laurie Graham. Whipped through this and loved it. Possibly better if (like me) you've never known anything, or cared at all, about the Kennedys. What an oddball, tragic, clan. V well written.

[Krys · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok. I wanted more of interactions between the Kennedy siblings, rather than a house help's perspective. I felt the story was repetitive (Mrs k was shopping in Paris) and the plot lagging. I would recommend it, but I didn't find the "bittersweet comedy" element the subtitle advertised.l

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting read. The nanny for the Joe Kennedy clan tells the story of the family. Details about the raising of the children and info about the untimely death of Joseph and Kathleen. Mother Rose was not a loving mother at all.

[Wendy Milnes Gaskell · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.
Utter drivel.
The book is poorly written, with the dialogue being especially unrealistic. The plot - as far as I got anyway - managed to be both hackneyed and preposterous. An author to avoid.

[Jan Treptow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

This is a delightful book. I love the way Laura weaves the Kennedy dialogue into Nora’s vernacular. Also, Nora loves the Kennedy children as her own giving them the stability missing as their parents become less and less dependent on their biological parents.

I would recommend it to any Kennedy family follower.