Jackie and Maria
Book Review - Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul
Going into Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul, I knew quite a bit about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Not only because I just finished reading And They Called it Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton a few weeks ago (and read other books about The Kennedys including The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher and The Editor by Stephen Rowley…plus featured The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable…okay, I think you get the picture, I like to read about The Kennedys.) But also because I studied fashion and it is impossible to study fashion without being a little obsessed with Jacqueline Kennedy.
Book Review - Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul
However, I knew very little about Maria Callas. I may have been able to conjure up her nickname, La Callas. But I doubt I could have told you why she was famous (opera singer) and which famous man she was associated with (Aristotle Onassis.) You know the thing I love most about historical fiction is learning something new about history and the people who make it. So this book was a GEM for me.
Book Review - Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul
Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul chronicle Jacqueline Kennedy and Maria Callas’ lives leading up to becoming rivals for Aristotle Onassis’ affections, reaching as far back to when Jacqueline meets JFK and extending through to the death of Aristotle. Gill Paul did a wonderful job portraying each woman fairly, neither one was all good or pure evil, both were human…and we get a great sense of that in this book. At times I loved both women and at times they both annoyed me…but I could see where they were coming from and why they made the decisions that they did. Kudos to Gill Paul for bringing these two complicated women to life so beautifully.
Book Review - Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul
