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The Lost Diary of M
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First published February 25, 2020
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February 29, 2020
There are times in a fictional recounting of a real person you wonder what is true and what is in the fiction category. I kept on thinking in reading this book, that even if a small portion of this fictionalized diary was true, how scary our world was. It was a time when a nuclear holocaust seemed to be our future. In school, I do remember hiding under our desks for our bomb drills (ridiculous really) and seeing on television the escalation of tensions, and always the videos captured of that mushroom cloud. We were young small kids frightened really but never really understanding the games that were being played out in front of us.
Some might consider Mary Pinchot Meyer, a socialite, a woman who was born before her time. Her free wheeling life, her ability to thrown many curves at convention, her adherence to the world of LSD and its advocates, plus her secret affair with a president, made her quite the different type of Washingtonian lady. She had been married to a CIA chief, sister in law of Washington Post"s Ben Bradlee, friend of Timothy Leary, and a feminist.
Mary always seemed to be one who went against the main stream, one who loved to throw some dirt into the faces of the elite, one who eventually was murdered a year after her presidential lover, John F. Kennedy was murdered.
This book throws quite a bit of innuendo into the forces that not only killed Kennedy, but also provided a background for the many dalliances that Kennedy had and the way in which his thoughts about the Cold War were formulated much to the chagrin of the CIA and the elite.. We are shown Washington as a den of cutthroat power hungry leaders who wanted nothing more than a nuclear age of bombs and the loss of countless lives. We saw those who urged that Castro and hence Russia be blown up without the cost of consequences to the average soul living in America. Scary times indeed and as Mary leads a group of women randomly known as Chantilly Lace, she fights for peace having Kennedy's ear and feeling that LSD was the answer to war mongering because it enlightened people to see their inner selves, the ones that wanted inner peace.
We can look back now and still wonder about those sixties, when a young charismatic man led this country, but what can never be denied is the mystery that still to this day surrounds the details of his life and death and to a great extent Mary's as well.
This diary is imaginative, a narrative that is mostly a myth, but what if some of it were true? How frightening to once again be reminded that for many war seems to be the only answer. Mary knew this to be true and although she led a most unconventional life, she was never afraid to buck accepted norms, flaunt mores and morals of the time, and cast the traditional aside.
This was an interesting book, a provocative story that once again made me realize that even if we think ourselves to be a witness to history, we really are totally bereft of knowing the real story.
Thank you to Paul Wolfe, Harper Publishing, and Edelweiss for a copy of this intriguing book.
Some might consider Mary Pinchot Meyer, a socialite, a woman who was born before her time. Her free wheeling life, her ability to thrown many curves at convention, her adherence to the world of LSD and its advocates, plus her secret affair with a president, made her quite the different type of Washingtonian lady. She had been married to a CIA chief, sister in law of Washington Post"s Ben Bradlee, friend of Timothy Leary, and a feminist.
Mary always seemed to be one who went against the main stream, one who loved to throw some dirt into the faces of the elite, one who eventually was murdered a year after her presidential lover, John F. Kennedy was murdered.
This book throws quite a bit of innuendo into the forces that not only killed Kennedy, but also provided a background for the many dalliances that Kennedy had and the way in which his thoughts about the Cold War were formulated much to the chagrin of the CIA and the elite.. We are shown Washington as a den of cutthroat power hungry leaders who wanted nothing more than a nuclear age of bombs and the loss of countless lives. We saw those who urged that Castro and hence Russia be blown up without the cost of consequences to the average soul living in America. Scary times indeed and as Mary leads a group of women randomly known as Chantilly Lace, she fights for peace having Kennedy's ear and feeling that LSD was the answer to war mongering because it enlightened people to see their inner selves, the ones that wanted inner peace.
We can look back now and still wonder about those sixties, when a young charismatic man led this country, but what can never be denied is the mystery that still to this day surrounds the details of his life and death and to a great extent Mary's as well.
This diary is imaginative, a narrative that is mostly a myth, but what if some of it were true? How frightening to once again be reminded that for many war seems to be the only answer. Mary knew this to be true and although she led a most unconventional life, she was never afraid to buck accepted norms, flaunt mores and morals of the time, and cast the traditional aside.
This was an interesting book, a provocative story that once again made me realize that even if we think ourselves to be a witness to history, we really are totally bereft of knowing the real story.
Thank you to Paul Wolfe, Harper Publishing, and Edelweiss for a copy of this intriguing book.
January 1, 2022
This is a Historical Fiction. The beginning was very slow to get going, but I loved the ending. After I finish it I am glad I read it, but it is not a book I will remember as the time passes. I won an arc of this book from a goodreads giveaway, but this review is 100% my own opinion.
August 30, 2019
First thank you to Paul Wolfe and Harper Collins for an e-ARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion of the book.
Why am I not surprised I have never heard of Mary Pinchot, I don't think it is because I was born in 1959 so I was young when Kennedy was shot but we never hear about the women behind great men. This is a terrific and intriguing book and is about the relationship between Mary and Jack from their first encounter to their last.
Mary is a woman, not ahead of her time because I believe there were many women like her but she was a woman who had the guts to be her own woman.
The author portrays her, as best he can because she was, as she had to be, a private person specifically in regards to her relationship (I won't use the word affair because it was much more than that) with Jack Kennedy.
I believe that Jack did confide in Mary and that he did love her like no other.
A must read and I am grateful for the opportunity to have had the opportunity to read and share my opinions with others.
Why am I not surprised I have never heard of Mary Pinchot, I don't think it is because I was born in 1959 so I was young when Kennedy was shot but we never hear about the women behind great men. This is a terrific and intriguing book and is about the relationship between Mary and Jack from their first encounter to their last.
Mary is a woman, not ahead of her time because I believe there were many women like her but she was a woman who had the guts to be her own woman.
The author portrays her, as best he can because she was, as she had to be, a private person specifically in regards to her relationship (I won't use the word affair because it was much more than that) with Jack Kennedy.
I believe that Jack did confide in Mary and that he did love her like no other.
A must read and I am grateful for the opportunity to have had the opportunity to read and share my opinions with others.
September 2, 2022
DNF. A trashy piece. I have no idea what I was thinking when I selected it.
February 18, 2021
On October 12, 1964, a prominent Washington socialite named Mary Pinchot Meyer was shot to death on the towpath along the C&O Canal in storied Georgetown. An African-American man spotted there was arrested for her murder, but no compelling evidence ever surfaced to support his conviction, and he was acquitted at trial. The case attracted a torrent of press attention when it became clear that the murdered woman was President John F. Kennedy’s lover.
Then, nearly half a century later, a psychologist and lecturer named Peter Janney published Mary’s Mosaic, a deeply researched inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mary Meyer’s death. His was just the latest in a long series of articles and books about the murder, but Janney’s findings were explosive. They centered around a diary Mary was known to have been keeping that revealed her passionate affair with President John F. Kennedy. Now, in his second novel, Paul Wolfe cleverly imagines what Mary wrote in that book and how she came to be murdered.
What history knows about John F. Kennedy’s lover
Mary Pinchot Meyer was a daughter of the Northeastern elite that for so long had played a dominant role in the American economy, culture, and government. She herself took up painting and joined the abstract expressionist Washington Color School as a student of Kenneth Noland. Some of her paintings hang in museums today.
** Mary’s uncle was Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946), confidante of President Theodore Roosevelt, first chief of the United States Forest Service, and later Governor of Pennsylvania. Her father, Amos Pinchot (1873-1944), was a lawyer and prominent progressive reformer in the 1920s.
** Her sister, Toni, married Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), who rose to fame as the executive editor of the Washington Post and managed its coverage of the Pentagon Papers and the Watergate scandal.
** Mary herself attended the elite Brearley School and Vassar College, where many of her classmates became involved in the Washington elite through marriage.
** Immediately after World War II, Mary married Cord Meyer (1920-2001), and together they built the United World Federalists. Later, Cord joined the fledgling CIA, where he shed his liberal idealism and served in senior roles until 1977.
** One of Cord’s bosses, James Jesus Angleton (1917-87), the notorious head of counterintelligence for the CIA, became godfather to two of their children.
Mary’s 30-year relationship with John F. Kennedy
Mary Pinchot was attending a school dance in 1937 when an impertinent young man named John Kennedy repeatedly tried to cut in on her and her date. It was impossible not to know who Kennedy was; his already famous father, multimillionaire businessman and Hollywood producer Joseph P. Kennedy (1888-1969), was named US Ambassador to the United Kingdom the following year. But Mary was offended by the young man’s advance and apparently had no contact with him for more than a decade.
Not until after he emerged from World War II as a hero and was elected, first to Congress and then to the United States Senate. He was already married to Jacqueline Bouvier (1929-94). But, always on the prowl, Kennedy pursued her despite his marriage. Her resistance melted over time, and after he was elected President she agreed to join him for “dates” in the White House. Not much time passed before the two were in love. Contemporary accounts support this assertion and suggest that Kennedy would have divorced Jackie after serving his second term in office. Mary Pinchot Meyer, John F. Kennedy’s lover, was to become his second wife.
A story filled with bold-faced names
In Paul Wolfe’s telling, and in established fact, Mary’s life in Washington was a continual whirl of Georgetown cocktail parties, casual liaisons, and an unending torrent of the rumors that swirled around the Kennedy Administration.
“Girlfriends”
Mary’s “girlfriends” included her sister, Antoinette (Toni) Bradlee, wife of the Washington Post‘s executive editor; Katherine Graham (1917-2001), later her husband’s successor as publisher of the Washington Post following his suicide; Cicely (Ceci) Harriet d’Autremont Angleton, wife of James Jesus Angleton; Polly Wisner, who was married to one of the CIA’s founding members; and Pamela Harriman (1920-97), formerly Winston Churchill’s daughter-in-law and then married to Averell Harriman, a prominent State Department official and one of the country’s wealthiest men.
Partygoers
The men who frequented the Georgetown parties where gossip flowed as freely as liquor included her then ex-husband, Cord Meyer; Cord’s mentor and boss, James Jesus Angleton; Frank Wisner (1909-65), a former CIA Director close to Angleton; Phil Graham (1915-63), publisher and later co-owner of the Washington Post; Ben Bradlee; and even, occasionally, John F. Kennedy.
In the White House
Once Mary’s intense affair with Jack Kennedy was underway, she interacted frequently with Kenneth O’Donnell (1924-77), the President’s Appointments Secretary (and procurer). She had little or no contact with others in the White House, since O’Donnell whisked her in and out in secrecy. Unlike so many other women during the three short years of the Administration, Mary Meyer, was John F. Kennedy’s lover in reality and not a one-night fling.
A tale of love, lust, and LSD
In The Lost Diary of M as well as in journalistic accounts, Mary Meyer’s life during the Kennedy Administration revolved around her painting, the two young sons she shared with Cord Meyer, the gossip mill of the Georgetown set, her love affair with the President—and her experimentation with LSD. In Wolfe’s tale, Mary “drops acid” with the poet Allen Ginsberg in California and then resolves to enlist Timothy Leary in “turning on” her girlfriends in Georgetown.
A lifelong pacifist, descendant of a long line of Pinchot pacifists, Mary regards LSD as the means by which she and her friends will convert the powerful men of the Administration to the cause of world peace. And she does, in fact, manage to persuade several of the women she knows not only to take LSD themselves but to administer it to their husbands—with no apparent effect. She does eventually succeed in enticing the President to experience the drug—and shortly afterward, Kennedy delivers a ringing plea for world peace in a widely cited commencement address at American University (June 10, 1963) that shocked the Pentagon and the State Department. Mary, or rather Paul Wolfe, imagines a direct connection between the LSD and the call for peace.
Mary regards that speech—and, even more tellingly, his decision not to authorize support for the invading force at the Bay of Pigs—as the reasons for his assassination. And it becomes clear in the pages of her diary that the events of November 22, 1963, were the doing of the CIA. Peter Janney’s book makes the same case, and (in my view) he does so convincingly.
Whatever became of the diary?
By all accounts, there was, indeed, a diary. As Paul Wolfe imagines it, James Jesus Angleton breaks into Mary’s home the day of her murder and steals the diary. In other accounts, Angleton turns over the diary to Mary’s sister, Toni, and her husband, Ben Bradlee. But, whoever it is who decides to hide or destroy the book, it does disappear. The diary has never resurfaced in the nearly sixty years since Mary’s murder.
About the author
Paul Wolfe‘s biographical blurb on Amazon, widely quoted elsewhere, states that he “has written in virtually every medium, from fiction and advertising to songs and plays.” The Lost Diary of M is his second novel.
Then, nearly half a century later, a psychologist and lecturer named Peter Janney published Mary’s Mosaic, a deeply researched inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mary Meyer’s death. His was just the latest in a long series of articles and books about the murder, but Janney’s findings were explosive. They centered around a diary Mary was known to have been keeping that revealed her passionate affair with President John F. Kennedy. Now, in his second novel, Paul Wolfe cleverly imagines what Mary wrote in that book and how she came to be murdered.
What history knows about John F. Kennedy’s lover
Mary Pinchot Meyer was a daughter of the Northeastern elite that for so long had played a dominant role in the American economy, culture, and government. She herself took up painting and joined the abstract expressionist Washington Color School as a student of Kenneth Noland. Some of her paintings hang in museums today.
** Mary’s uncle was Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946), confidante of President Theodore Roosevelt, first chief of the United States Forest Service, and later Governor of Pennsylvania. Her father, Amos Pinchot (1873-1944), was a lawyer and prominent progressive reformer in the 1920s.
** Her sister, Toni, married Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), who rose to fame as the executive editor of the Washington Post and managed its coverage of the Pentagon Papers and the Watergate scandal.
** Mary herself attended the elite Brearley School and Vassar College, where many of her classmates became involved in the Washington elite through marriage.
** Immediately after World War II, Mary married Cord Meyer (1920-2001), and together they built the United World Federalists. Later, Cord joined the fledgling CIA, where he shed his liberal idealism and served in senior roles until 1977.
** One of Cord’s bosses, James Jesus Angleton (1917-87), the notorious head of counterintelligence for the CIA, became godfather to two of their children.
Mary’s 30-year relationship with John F. Kennedy
Mary Pinchot was attending a school dance in 1937 when an impertinent young man named John Kennedy repeatedly tried to cut in on her and her date. It was impossible not to know who Kennedy was; his already famous father, multimillionaire businessman and Hollywood producer Joseph P. Kennedy (1888-1969), was named US Ambassador to the United Kingdom the following year. But Mary was offended by the young man’s advance and apparently had no contact with him for more than a decade.
Not until after he emerged from World War II as a hero and was elected, first to Congress and then to the United States Senate. He was already married to Jacqueline Bouvier (1929-94). But, always on the prowl, Kennedy pursued her despite his marriage. Her resistance melted over time, and after he was elected President she agreed to join him for “dates” in the White House. Not much time passed before the two were in love. Contemporary accounts support this assertion and suggest that Kennedy would have divorced Jackie after serving his second term in office. Mary Pinchot Meyer, John F. Kennedy’s lover, was to become his second wife.
A story filled with bold-faced names
In Paul Wolfe’s telling, and in established fact, Mary’s life in Washington was a continual whirl of Georgetown cocktail parties, casual liaisons, and an unending torrent of the rumors that swirled around the Kennedy Administration.
“Girlfriends”
Mary’s “girlfriends” included her sister, Antoinette (Toni) Bradlee, wife of the Washington Post‘s executive editor; Katherine Graham (1917-2001), later her husband’s successor as publisher of the Washington Post following his suicide; Cicely (Ceci) Harriet d’Autremont Angleton, wife of James Jesus Angleton; Polly Wisner, who was married to one of the CIA’s founding members; and Pamela Harriman (1920-97), formerly Winston Churchill’s daughter-in-law and then married to Averell Harriman, a prominent State Department official and one of the country’s wealthiest men.
Partygoers
The men who frequented the Georgetown parties where gossip flowed as freely as liquor included her then ex-husband, Cord Meyer; Cord’s mentor and boss, James Jesus Angleton; Frank Wisner (1909-65), a former CIA Director close to Angleton; Phil Graham (1915-63), publisher and later co-owner of the Washington Post; Ben Bradlee; and even, occasionally, John F. Kennedy.
In the White House
Once Mary’s intense affair with Jack Kennedy was underway, she interacted frequently with Kenneth O’Donnell (1924-77), the President’s Appointments Secretary (and procurer). She had little or no contact with others in the White House, since O’Donnell whisked her in and out in secrecy. Unlike so many other women during the three short years of the Administration, Mary Meyer, was John F. Kennedy’s lover in reality and not a one-night fling.
A tale of love, lust, and LSD
In The Lost Diary of M as well as in journalistic accounts, Mary Meyer’s life during the Kennedy Administration revolved around her painting, the two young sons she shared with Cord Meyer, the gossip mill of the Georgetown set, her love affair with the President—and her experimentation with LSD. In Wolfe’s tale, Mary “drops acid” with the poet Allen Ginsberg in California and then resolves to enlist Timothy Leary in “turning on” her girlfriends in Georgetown.
A lifelong pacifist, descendant of a long line of Pinchot pacifists, Mary regards LSD as the means by which she and her friends will convert the powerful men of the Administration to the cause of world peace. And she does, in fact, manage to persuade several of the women she knows not only to take LSD themselves but to administer it to their husbands—with no apparent effect. She does eventually succeed in enticing the President to experience the drug—and shortly afterward, Kennedy delivers a ringing plea for world peace in a widely cited commencement address at American University (June 10, 1963) that shocked the Pentagon and the State Department. Mary, or rather Paul Wolfe, imagines a direct connection between the LSD and the call for peace.
Mary regards that speech—and, even more tellingly, his decision not to authorize support for the invading force at the Bay of Pigs—as the reasons for his assassination. And it becomes clear in the pages of her diary that the events of November 22, 1963, were the doing of the CIA. Peter Janney’s book makes the same case, and (in my view) he does so convincingly.
Whatever became of the diary?
By all accounts, there was, indeed, a diary. As Paul Wolfe imagines it, James Jesus Angleton breaks into Mary’s home the day of her murder and steals the diary. In other accounts, Angleton turns over the diary to Mary’s sister, Toni, and her husband, Ben Bradlee. But, whoever it is who decides to hide or destroy the book, it does disappear. The diary has never resurfaced in the nearly sixty years since Mary’s murder.
About the author
Paul Wolfe‘s biographical blurb on Amazon, widely quoted elsewhere, states that he “has written in virtually every medium, from fiction and advertising to songs and plays.” The Lost Diary of M is his second novel.
February 8, 2020
I was born in 1960 and I had never even heard of Mary Pinchot Meyer until I read this book. It is written as a fictional diary (not the actual diary of Ms. Meyer), which I thought was an interesting and fresh idea. It seems that Ms. Pinchot was a "wild child" at heart. She used drugs and was very free spirited. According to this fictional diary, JFK confided in his mistress (who was also the ex-wife of a CIA agent).
After I read a few chapters of this book, I honestly could not put it down. It kept my interest and the characters are very engaging. The historical events and details are so interesting and the settings are superb. I would highly recommend this book.
After I read a few chapters of this book, I honestly could not put it down. It kept my interest and the characters are very engaging. The historical events and details are so interesting and the settings are superb. I would highly recommend this book.
March 2, 2020
Didn't read the synopsis and went in blind, found it wildly entertaining, but then googled Mary and was stunned this was a real Washington woman. After lots of research I jumped back in much more enlightened and thoroughly enjoyed my fictitious musings. Fascinating look at historical events through creative writing.
June 27, 2020
It really dragged in a lot of places
June 25, 2020
I knew going in it was probably going to be depressing and it was. Don't bother reading as it will get you down in the dumps. However, if you want to read about people with sad horrible lives who sit around and take LSD and have affairs and have no joy or happiness in their lives then by all means glory in their tragic tales.
February 20, 2022
This is like two books. The first part does not read at all like a diary but it does set the stage in defining the social set of Washington at the time, and Mary Pinchot Meyer’s family “credentials”. The second part (1963 and 1964) is more like a diary and defines the operation of the CIA and shows its motivation for eliminating JFK and Mary Pinchot Meyer.
The book is replete, particularly in the first half, with non-diary prose. Examples are (p.44) “He is now godfather to my boys…. James Angleton.” (Mary knows this, why would she write it in her diary?); paragraphs like the one on (p. 17) “I took my first LSD when in 1958 when I was out west finalizing my divorce from Cord” read like an autobiography and not a diary; throughout there are long pieces of conversation, where variations of “S/he told me that ….” would make a more authentic sounding diary.
Author Paul Wolfe does not hit his stride until the 1963 chapter. The tone has more of a diary sound and the story adheres to the assumed personalities of the players. The MPM-JFK romance is depicted in a feasible way. Wolfe creates a story on how Mary could come to realize the centrality of the Bay of Pigs fiasco and what it meant for JFK. Mary reports in her diary what she is learning about the players what they are up to. She reads the Warren Report, speaks to some people bout this and shortly after the diary ends.
The Author’s Note is a good summary of the real story and which parts of his novel are based on fact.
I’d like to give this book 5 stars because the author is tackling an important and overlooked aspect of the Kennedy assassination. Unfortunately the weakness of the diary's prose (perhaps a 3rd person narrator could fill in the bio parts), an important error in chronology (in 1961 Mary is concerned about napalm which wasn’t used until 1963) and the Marilyn Monroe cameo (not at all realistic) detract.
Through this telling you can see why the CIA eliminated JFK (evidence keeps piling up to show that it did) and Mary as collateral damage. For further understanding of this I highly recommend Mary's Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace and of Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination.
The book is replete, particularly in the first half, with non-diary prose. Examples are (p.44) “He is now godfather to my boys…. James Angleton.” (Mary knows this, why would she write it in her diary?); paragraphs like the one on (p. 17) “I took my first LSD when in 1958 when I was out west finalizing my divorce from Cord” read like an autobiography and not a diary; throughout there are long pieces of conversation, where variations of “S/he told me that ….” would make a more authentic sounding diary.
Author Paul Wolfe does not hit his stride until the 1963 chapter. The tone has more of a diary sound and the story adheres to the assumed personalities of the players. The MPM-JFK romance is depicted in a feasible way. Wolfe creates a story on how Mary could come to realize the centrality of the Bay of Pigs fiasco and what it meant for JFK. Mary reports in her diary what she is learning about the players what they are up to. She reads the Warren Report, speaks to some people bout this and shortly after the diary ends.
The Author’s Note is a good summary of the real story and which parts of his novel are based on fact.
I’d like to give this book 5 stars because the author is tackling an important and overlooked aspect of the Kennedy assassination. Unfortunately the weakness of the diary's prose (perhaps a 3rd person narrator could fill in the bio parts), an important error in chronology (in 1961 Mary is concerned about napalm which wasn’t used until 1963) and the Marilyn Monroe cameo (not at all realistic) detract.
Through this telling you can see why the CIA eliminated JFK (evidence keeps piling up to show that it did) and Mary as collateral damage. For further understanding of this I highly recommend Mary's Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace and of Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination.
February 21, 2020
The premise of this book was to invent or create a diary written by Mary Pinchot, a woman who was apparently one of JFK's lovers, whose murder is unsolved to this day. Wolfe is a marvelous writer, and his prose is beautiful. However, I'm not sure that he carried it off completely. Find out what I liked and didn't like in my #bookreview of this novel on my blog here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/02/2...
November 15, 2020
For more of my book reviews, check out www.bargain-sleuth.com
From Amazon.com: "An engrossing debut novel that cannily reimagines the extraordinary life and mysterious death of bohemian Georgetown socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer— secret lover of JFK, ex-wife of a CIA chief, sexual adventurer, LSD explorer and early feminist living by her own rules."
I'll admit it, I'll read anything regarding the Kennedys. The family did a lot of good, did a lot of bad, and is still utterly fascinating 40 years after I picked up my first biography of John F. Kennedy.
The one thing I don't like is conspiracy theories. There was a time when I devoured them and half-heartedly believed every one right after I read it; that was in my teens and early 20's, about the time that Oliver Stone's JFK hit the silver screen. Then I grew up. I realized that there's no way that many people involved in a conspiracy could keep a secret for 30, then 40, then 50 years.
But still, The Lost Diary of M by Paul Wolfe tantalized me. I knew, from reading other JFK biographies, that Ben Bradlee's sister-in-law had an affair with JFK. Knew she was murdered and her killer was never found. So many questions about her involvement with Kennedy and subsequent death is just itching for a historical novel.
The book is set up like a diary. And maybe that's why it didn't work for me. It was an interesting premise that falls flat. The author didn't do anything to make me care about Mary Pinchot Meyer and found myself skimming diary entries until the next time Mary saw Jack. Unfortunately, their interactions weren't that interesting, either.
The Lost Diary of M by Paul Wolfe is for die-hard Kennedy conspiracy theorists, but not for me.
From Amazon.com: "An engrossing debut novel that cannily reimagines the extraordinary life and mysterious death of bohemian Georgetown socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer— secret lover of JFK, ex-wife of a CIA chief, sexual adventurer, LSD explorer and early feminist living by her own rules."
I'll admit it, I'll read anything regarding the Kennedys. The family did a lot of good, did a lot of bad, and is still utterly fascinating 40 years after I picked up my first biography of John F. Kennedy.
The one thing I don't like is conspiracy theories. There was a time when I devoured them and half-heartedly believed every one right after I read it; that was in my teens and early 20's, about the time that Oliver Stone's JFK hit the silver screen. Then I grew up. I realized that there's no way that many people involved in a conspiracy could keep a secret for 30, then 40, then 50 years.
But still, The Lost Diary of M by Paul Wolfe tantalized me. I knew, from reading other JFK biographies, that Ben Bradlee's sister-in-law had an affair with JFK. Knew she was murdered and her killer was never found. So many questions about her involvement with Kennedy and subsequent death is just itching for a historical novel.
The book is set up like a diary. And maybe that's why it didn't work for me. It was an interesting premise that falls flat. The author didn't do anything to make me care about Mary Pinchot Meyer and found myself skimming diary entries until the next time Mary saw Jack. Unfortunately, their interactions weren't that interesting, either.
The Lost Diary of M by Paul Wolfe is for die-hard Kennedy conspiracy theorists, but not for me.
March 26, 2020
If you like a good conspiracy theory (or was it just the truth?), this book is an excellent read. Although familiar with JFK having affairs, I knew next to nothing about the artist Mary Pinchot Meyer. "The Lost Diary of M: A Novel" paints a picture of what the final years of Mary's life might have looked like.
Regardless of whether or not you buy into the conspiracy theories about the CIA's transgressions, this book provides a glimpse back to what life was like in DC during the Kennedy administration. It is also a nice reminder that, as women, we have come a long way. I will say that there was far more context on LSD than I anticipated.
The book leaves you wondering what fictionalized elements of Mary's life could have been true.
Regardless of whether or not you buy into the conspiracy theories about the CIA's transgressions, this book provides a glimpse back to what life was like in DC during the Kennedy administration. It is also a nice reminder that, as women, we have come a long way. I will say that there was far more context on LSD than I anticipated.
The book leaves you wondering what fictionalized elements of Mary's life could have been true.
January 17, 2021
Ok. When I put it down I had a hard time picking it up again. Wasn’t thrilled to read about rich, divorced, lady that didn’t even keep up or care what’s happening with her kids. All it seems she cared about was herself and where the next party was, the next drink was, who could she flirt with then cut them down because she didn’t need a man. As far as her being JFKs lover, whatever. If she was such a big influence on him, helping him make peaceful decisions, I doubt. She paints herself essential to him (JFK), and such a fascinating person that all the men come to her with deep dark life costing secrets, it makes me wonder what her mental outlook was. Her ego certainly was huge.
September 5, 2020
One of the worst books I've read in a long time - if I did not have to read this for a book discussion I would have thrown it across the room. There is nothing to like about the Mary PInchot Meyer in this book - she is narcissistic, believes every man she meets wants to have sex with her, believes she is no intelligent - yet none of this is revealed in her "diary". Just a crass. gossipy story that turns everyone powerful from the 1960's into a mindless idiot. I did not appreciate the language, the LSD, and just the way everyone was portrayed. Ugh.
September 7, 2021
I was really excited to get read this book, but ended up disappointed. I plan to do some research into the life of Mary Pinchot Meyers to find out how much of this novel is fact based. The "voice" of Mary seemed spacey and not true to life, the "Chantilly lace" project seems like a hard sell to the women of Georgetown in the early 1960s. That being said, it is interesting to read how connected all of the powerful people of that era were to one another.
April 3, 2020
DNF @ pg 78. I am a big fan of anything Kennedy related … but this one just didn't work for me. I found myself not wanting to even pick it back up. It never caught my interest and when 3 days had gone by without me picking it up I knew it was time to set it aside. I considered skimming through it, but just couldn't make myself do it. This book was simply not for me.
March 30, 2020
Tough to stay interested in even though I love to read novels about the Kennedy's. I did read the whole thing and it was ok but glad I am finished with it. Dry
April 28, 2020
Did not finish— I found this to be an unfinishable read. No plot development within the first 50 pages, and the tone of voice was so droll i never wanted to pick it up. Moving on !
Read
March 13, 2020Would love to know how much, if any, of this is true.
September 15, 2021
The fictionalized diary of Mary Pinch of Meyer, who had an affair with JFK while he was President.
Supposedly she actually had a diary in real life, but it's never been seen.
Her unsolved murder in 1964 has been a point of speculation among conspiracy theorists.
The best parts of this are Mary's encounters with JFK.
The rest of the novel left me wanting more.
Supposedly she actually had a diary in real life, but it's never been seen.
Her unsolved murder in 1964 has been a point of speculation among conspiracy theorists.
The best parts of this are Mary's encounters with JFK.
The rest of the novel left me wanting more.
June 5, 2023
An interesting read and a theory that may be closer to truth than we might imagine.
April 15, 2021
I finished this book so quickly. I live 3 blocks away from the grassy knoll where JFK was assassinated and visiting it still gives me the eerie feeling that I felt the first time. I knew that his assassination was coming in the book, but I wasn’t prepared to hear the hurt of his wife and his lover. Although this is historical fiction, the book lays a sheet of doubt over the reported events of the assassination. It was a quick read, but definitely thought provoking. I feel the need to check out more books about the conspiracies surrounding his assassination now.
August 22, 2020
Review to come.
May 29, 2020
"The Lost Diary of M: A Novel" is the second novel I've read this year in which a woman named Mary Pinchot Meyer occupies center stage. This is an interesting place for her to occupy, because in real life, while she wasn't far from the corridors of power and privilege, she never sought notoriety or fame for herself.
Who was Mary Pinchot Meyer, you may ask? Well, there was much more to Mary Pinchot Meyer than meets the eye. She came from a privileged background and had met John Fitzgerald Kennedy when both were in their teens. They moved around in similar social circles for the following couple of decades. Mary Pinchot Meyer was a very smart, shrewd, attractive woman who knew her own mind -- and was unafraid to speak truth to power. But it wasn't until 1961 that President Kennedy and Mary Pinchot Meyer (by then divorced from Cord Meyer, a high-ranking CIA official) developed a closer, discreet relationship. It was a relationship that would have a profound influence on President Kennedy's approach to the Cold War and world peace.
"THE LOST DIARY OF M" traces Mary Pinchot Meyer's arc from 1961 to shortly before her murder in October 1964. It makes for very compelling reading, in terms of conveying drama and the power of personality on events. Nevertheless, I found a glaring error in the novel that I must call out. It concerns a real-life person, Pamela Harriman (who figured prominently in Democratic Party politics from the 1970s to the 1990s and was made the U.S. Ambassador to France by President Bill Clinton). In the time period covered in the novel, contrary to what the author has indicated, Pamela Harriman was NOT married to Averill Harriman (who served as a special envoy for President Kennedy). She was married to Leland Hayward, who was a wealthy and successful Broadway producer. Pamela Harriman would not marry Averill Harriman until 1971, by which time both of them were widowed.
That is why, on the basis of this historical inaccuracy, I give "THE LOST DIARY OF M" four (4) stars. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Who was Mary Pinchot Meyer, you may ask? Well, there was much more to Mary Pinchot Meyer than meets the eye. She came from a privileged background and had met John Fitzgerald Kennedy when both were in their teens. They moved around in similar social circles for the following couple of decades. Mary Pinchot Meyer was a very smart, shrewd, attractive woman who knew her own mind -- and was unafraid to speak truth to power. But it wasn't until 1961 that President Kennedy and Mary Pinchot Meyer (by then divorced from Cord Meyer, a high-ranking CIA official) developed a closer, discreet relationship. It was a relationship that would have a profound influence on President Kennedy's approach to the Cold War and world peace.
"THE LOST DIARY OF M" traces Mary Pinchot Meyer's arc from 1961 to shortly before her murder in October 1964. It makes for very compelling reading, in terms of conveying drama and the power of personality on events. Nevertheless, I found a glaring error in the novel that I must call out. It concerns a real-life person, Pamela Harriman (who figured prominently in Democratic Party politics from the 1970s to the 1990s and was made the U.S. Ambassador to France by President Bill Clinton). In the time period covered in the novel, contrary to what the author has indicated, Pamela Harriman was NOT married to Averill Harriman (who served as a special envoy for President Kennedy). She was married to Leland Hayward, who was a wealthy and successful Broadway producer. Pamela Harriman would not marry Averill Harriman until 1971, by which time both of them were widowed.
That is why, on the basis of this historical inaccuracy, I give "THE LOST DIARY OF M" four (4) stars. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
March 29, 2020
The true story of the life and death of Mary Pinchot Meyer appears to be very interesting but the format of this book lost me. I know it is supposed to read like a dairy but it just did not flow and was so disjointed. I could not connect with the writing style.
March 28, 2020
It was just ok, kind of slow. The story was interesting, but it lacked something.
December 17, 2019
I received an uncorrected proof copy of this novel from HarperCollins.
Written as a fictional diary, this novel explores the secret life of Mary Pinchot Meyer, who was a longtime lover of President John F. Kennedy and who was mysteriously murdered a year after his death. This novel depicts Mary as unrestricted by society's typical rules surrounding women. She is divorced, sleeps with the married president, strips down to her skin and dives in pools at parties, and is an ardent advocate of the mind opening abilities of taking LSD.
Mary Pinchot Meyer is an interesting historical figure and an intriguing subject matter for a novel yet I was disappointed in the execution of her story. There's very little real insight into her death, only shadowy figures and conspiracy theory type allusions. Wolfe has chosen to portray JFK as the great love of Mary's life, and someone to whom JFK turned for solace and guidance, which seems like a stretch. For that matter, the fact that Wolfe chose to write a first person narrative from a woman's perspective was not a true success. There was no true sense of her emotional or internal life that could have breathed life into her character.
I appreciated this novel's illumination of a figure generally lost to history and thought the choice to write the book as an imagined diary was a good one. However, I did not particularly enjoy the story or the imagined inner life of Mary Pinchot Meyer.
Written as a fictional diary, this novel explores the secret life of Mary Pinchot Meyer, who was a longtime lover of President John F. Kennedy and who was mysteriously murdered a year after his death. This novel depicts Mary as unrestricted by society's typical rules surrounding women. She is divorced, sleeps with the married president, strips down to her skin and dives in pools at parties, and is an ardent advocate of the mind opening abilities of taking LSD.
Mary Pinchot Meyer is an interesting historical figure and an intriguing subject matter for a novel yet I was disappointed in the execution of her story. There's very little real insight into her death, only shadowy figures and conspiracy theory type allusions. Wolfe has chosen to portray JFK as the great love of Mary's life, and someone to whom JFK turned for solace and guidance, which seems like a stretch. For that matter, the fact that Wolfe chose to write a first person narrative from a woman's perspective was not a true success. There was no true sense of her emotional or internal life that could have breathed life into her character.
I appreciated this novel's illumination of a figure generally lost to history and thought the choice to write the book as an imagined diary was a good one. However, I did not particularly enjoy the story or the imagined inner life of Mary Pinchot Meyer.
April 13, 2021
I always feel bad being grumpy in two book reviews in a row, but not much about this book worked for me either! I prefer historical fiction that largely follows historical fact, at least for the major beats of the story. This book about Mary Pinchot Meyer, a staunch peace advocate having an affair with JFK, goes full on conspiracy theory, making up explanations for JFK's murder. It's equally imaginary in the small details. Little is known about Mary Meyer, so the details of her life and daily interactions were barely fact-inspired. This supposedly feminist story largely hinges on Mary's relationships with men. Nearly nothing happens. Her voice in her diary wasn't convincing. It front-loaded salacious details and included flash backs that felt like parts of a novel, but not part of a someone's personal diary. There were parts where I enjoyed Mary's brash character and some of the 'celebrity sightings' in her life were amusing. Otherwise, I don't have much good to say about this one.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
February 21, 2020
Wolfe has made a good effort at illuminating the life of Mary Pinchot Meyer, who is one of the lesser known but no less important enduring conspiracy theory mysteries of Washington. Whew. She had incredible connections in DC, the most obvious of which is, of course, her affair with President Kennedy. This is a fictionalized diary- she actually did keep a diary which has never been found- and while it's mostly focused on her relationship and thoughts about JFK, you might also find yourself doing a bit of googling to check out some of the other real life people discussed. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. For fans of novels about historical figures with larger lives than it appeared on the surface.
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