Reflected Glory: The Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman

by Sally Bedell Smith

This extensively research biography, based on interviews with 400 sources, shares the life of Pamela Churchill Harriman—the grand daughter-in-law of Winston Churchill and a woman who consistently managed to be where the action was.

Premier biography Sally Bedell Smith tells the explosive true story of the woman behind the public façade.

From her early years as a British debutante to her last days as the U.S. Ambassador to France, Harriman dealt with more powerful figures than nearly anyone else in the twentieth century, and in the process, she achieved her own fame in their reflected glory.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Gender

576 pages, Paperback

Published July 8, 1997

About the author

Author of six biographies: Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch (Random House 2102); For Love of Politics: Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years (Random House 2007); Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House (Random House 2004); Diana In Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess (Random House 2004); Reflected Glory: The Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman (Simon & Schuster, 1996); In All His Glory: The Life and Times of William S. Paley and the Birth of Modern Broadcasting (Simon & Schuster, 1990).
Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair since 1996.
Previously cultural news reporter for The New York Times, staff writer for TV Guide, and reporter-researcher for Time Magazine.
Awarded the Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for magazine reporting in 1982; fellow at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University from 1986 to 1987.
B.A. from Wheaton College and M.S. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pamela Harriman was a tramp. This book was well written, very well researched and very unbiased. After reading this, I have no respect for Mrs Harriman who seemed to get places by laying on her back. Incredible story and well done by the author

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, good grief, was she ever fascinating. I get that the way she got to where she was is considered reprehensible, but something about her story spoke to me and inspired me. No, not to start sleeping around, but to be, as the author described Pamela, "a doer, not a thinker." She knew what she wanted, and she went for it. And she wasn't just sleeping around, she was a legitimately hard worker as well and knew how to make herself useful and servile. She gave as good as she got as best she could. This was juicy and incredibly engrossing. It did go into too much detail at parts, particularly in giving the backstories of other characters. But other than that, it was perfect. I'm not going to let go of Pamela's story any time soon. I need more.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written, interesting biography of a supremely slutty and ambitious woman.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appear to be on a Pamela Churchill Harriman reading kick. I met her several times in Washington, D.C. through her husband, Ambassador Averill Harriman, and she appeared in the novel The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin which renewed my interest in her. This is an interesting book crammed full of information about the life of Pamela Churchill Harriman but the main thing that I came away with was that the author clearly disliked her intensely.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I will read just about any autobiography. I gues I thought I would like her more. Not a feminist. . .

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An appalling person, but I guess there isn't much point in sleeping your way to the middle.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what lady and what a book. Totally unexpected but an absolute informative delightful reading experience. I sought out this book after I have been reading more about Churchill after seeing the movies Dunkirk and Darkest Hour and then reading the biography of Clementine Churchill. This led me to their daughter in law Pamela and when I checked her story on Wikipedia it sounded interesting, but I had no idea of the treat I had in store. I would loved to have met her, but as I did not have several hundred millions to my name I am not sure if she would have spoken to me, but if I had, I would have been interested to learn of her technique and how she captivated such men. I have also been researching the US political system and how it works and this book gave more information about the inner workings of how the political donations and nominations for office actually work than I have ever reads elsewhere. So thanks for that as well.

[Herman Plasmans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fascinating book and person

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read Citizens of London, (which is one of the best books I have read in the last 5 years…) I was intrigued by many of the characters, Churchill, Eisenhower, Edward R Murrow, but none more so than Churchill’s daughter-in-law, Pamela Churchill, better known as Pamela Harriman. Often referred to as the last great courtesan, she was a magnet for men of wealth and power. Pamela did get around.
Sally Bedell Smith wrote a comprehensive and detailed biography, published shortly before Harriman’s death in 1997, which is fascinating if somewhat long. Unlike her biography of Queen Elizabeth, which was discreet, to the point of being bland, this history delved into all aspects of Harriman’s life from her unsuccessful attempts to grab a rich husband and battles over money with her step children to her successful transition to political fund raiser and eventually, US Ambassador to France. My only complaint is that Smith sometime gives just too much information and the details of Harriman’s face lift seem strangely clinical. However, this is a good biography and I can promise that you won’t be bored.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can confirm Pamela Harriman slept her way to the top. It seemed that way in Citizens of London: The Americans who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour (one of my favorite non fiction books in the past few years), and indeed it is true.

[Nancy Loe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't expect to become her number #1, but after about 150 pages, I was actively disliking Pamela Digby Churchill Hayward Harriman. Just her swanning around in London during WWII with her black-market food and goods while she's Churchill's daughter-in-law was appalling.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an incredible juicy read. Don't underestimate this book. It give you a great understanding of Pamela, and how power is aphrodisiac that hasn't changed since the beginning of time. A great read.

[Lyn Sweetapple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched (over 400 interviews over 5 years with Pamela's blessing) and written biography considering that most of her life involved seducing wealthy and powerful me. I can't believe that PM Winston Churchill didn't know how she was getting all the gossip she told him. Pamela would have held her own with the diBorgias and was easily in the mold of the famous courtesans of Louis XIV and XV as well has her famous and intriguing relative Jane Digby. Her attraction was that she made everyone feel cherished and pampered except for her stepchildren who she forced out of their fathers' lives. Her last two marriages lasted over 10 years and only ended by death.
related books: Debs at War (she was married so is not in this); Daphne du Maurier and Her Sisters (a lot about the Duffs); Eleanor: the Alone Years (Harriman's political career)

Pamela was friends with Kathleen Harriman
She slept with Kathleen's dad Averill
Pamela slept with Bill Paley (boss of her other lover Edward R. Murrow)
Bill Paley married Babe
Babe Paley's first husband was Stanley Mortimer
Stanley Mortimer married Kathleen Harriman
Pamela slept with Jock Whitney
His wife, Betsey, was Babe Paley's sister

[Donie Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have long been fascinated by the colorful Pamela Churchill, etc., whose co-opting of the wealth belonging to others I found so selfish. She disinherited the children of husbands Leland Hayward and Averell Harriman, and erased all trace of the earlier wives of these men. She benefitted herself and her son "Young Winston" despite their rocky relationship: she was an oblivious mother--probably narcissistic. But what was truly fascinating to read about was how she "entrapped" the men in her life: she was considered a modern courtesan or geisha, and her affairs were numerous. A book that is difficult to put down.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having just finished this detailed biography, I fully realize I knew next to nothing about Pamela Churchill Harriman before starting it. I am wondering if I now know more than I care to. Here is yet another biography that makes it hard to like the subject, and yet also makes it equally hard to stop reading. Truth be told, I'll probably read more about Harriman and assorted family members at some point. For shame! (3.5 rating)

[Rebecca Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

This biography of Pamela Digby Churchill Leland Harriman (phew) is the story of a women of another time- she used men to provide her $, status and meaning. The list of her lovers is legendary. The author doesn’t overlook any of her flaws and his meticulous in its research. It occasionally gets a bit too detailed, but generally the story is well paced and a good read.

[Harriet Perrine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very tedious...

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

#171 of 172 books pledged to read during 2019

[Darren]

I realized after a few chapters that I just wasn't interested enough in her life to continue for a full book.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and incredibly well researched. And as Sally says in a Q&A it is a heck of yarn. I was conflicted in my feelings regarding Pamela. She acted almost entirely out of self-interest, estranged family members from one another, and knew no bounds with money. Her behavior was generally shameless. At the same time, because of primogeniture in England, she was not particularly well educated, and was only expected to marry well. She was adored by her mother but somewhat disliked by her father. She was also not a popular debutante in her day. One wonders how her early life affects her personality formation. Regardless, this is a fascinating book and an excellent portrayal of one of the twentieth century's most intriguing lives.

[Lilithanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was densely packed with information, so much so that we learned the exact surgical procedure used on PCH's first facelift. However it was a fascinating psychological study of Harriman's complete narcissism and amorality.

Interesting how so many men were beguiled by her while women were able to see through her.

[Tatyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and documented... Interesting choice of character... The author respects the reader enough to allow you to make your own opinion... I guess, Pamela thought of her life, as pretty successful. Not my understanding of success.

[Kathryn Pokarier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read and captures the epoch of the second and post World War . She was an entirely self mad woman reflected through the men she married/lived with

[Mimi Berkshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating, but after the 100th lover, a little too much detail!