Iron Rose: The Story of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and Her Dynasty

by Cindy Adams, Susan Crimp

Chronicles the life of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy from her childhood as a mayor's daughter in Boston and her marriage to the multimillionaire ambassador to Great Britain through the births and lives of her nine famous children. 125,000 first printing. $125,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Genres: Nonfiction

266 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[Karen Ettinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iron Rose is a Title that fits her life and legacy to a tee! Although her life was no bed of roses this Centurion made her mark in life and in history! A devout Catholic to the point of assuming the tragedies that befell the family were all in God’s Plan then relying solely on her faith to pull her through them is remarkable to say the least. She was the epitome of Family and a true Matriarch not only to the Kennedy and Fitzgerald’s but to Nations as well.
I took away a few important things from this book and was also surprised by a couple things related to the assassination of JFK since I’ve read many a history books on his life alone.
I read this book in a day and a half, highly recommend The Story of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and her Dynasty!🌹

[Reading_in_Bed789 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. This 14 point font, double spaced book has no footnotes, and a one page bibliography of “consulted works.” This is one long puff piece that a reader wouldn’t learn anything about the Kennedy family beyond what is in their Wikipedia pages.

I learned so much more about Rose Kennedy’s marriage to Joe (Senior), including their courtship and family backgrounds from the recently updated 2025 audiobook/KU version of Gloria and Joe: The Star-Crossed Love Affair of Gloria Swanson and Joe Kennedy by Axel Madsen (1988).

I checked this out from the library hoping to learn more about Rose herself—glad I didn’t pay for it!

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rose Kennedy was an amazing woman and this book tells the story of her life very well.

[Maddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but the author made her seem like an angel on earth so eh

[Lennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography discusses the life of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the matriarch to one of the most famous political families in American history. Although she led a life of wealth and priviledge, Rose experienced many tradegies and I admire the way she remained strong during the difficult times. She is truly inspiring!

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the story of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She was definitely an inspiring and amazing woman! But...I hate how this book was written. It seemed like more conjecture than actual fact. I look forward to reading Rose's autobiography!