From the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Wife comes a story of love, passion, and tragedy as the lives of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas are intertwined—and they become the ultimate rivals, in love with the same man.The President’s Wife; a Glamorous Superstar; the rivalry that shook the world… Jackie Kennedy was beautiful, sophisticated, and contemplating leaving her ambitious young … sophisticated, and contemplating leaving her ambitious young senator husband. Life in the public eye with an overly ambitious–and unfaithful—man who could hardly be coaxed to return from a vacation after the birth of a stillborn child was breaking her spirit. So when she’s offered a holiday on the luxurious yacht owned by billionaire Ari Onassis, she says yes…to a meeting that will ultimately change her life.
Maria Callas is at the height of her operatic career and widely considered to be the finest soprano in the world. And then she’s introduced to Aristotle Onassis, the world’s richest man and her fellow Greek. Stuck in a childless, sexless marriage, and with pressures on all sides from opera house managers and a hostile press, she finds her life being turned upside down by this hyper-intelligent and impeccably charming man…
Little by little, Maria’s and Jackie’s lives begin to overlap, and they come closer and closer until everything they know about the world changes on a dime.
more
Jackie and Maria, about Jackie Kennedy Onasis and opera singer Maria Callas, and their love triangle with Aristotle Onasis, was an engrossing read. Although fiction, I felt it shed light on the various relationships between the Kennedys and between Aristotle, his family, and the women in his life. It also vividly evoked the period, which was a fascinating time both both socially and politically.
this book seemed very historically correct yet interesting to read. I felt sorry for both women !
Even though this book was not autobiographical it had enough factual history that made it a very good read.
Just loved this book.
I enjoyed reading this book. I kind of knew the story of Maris Callas and Aristotle Onassis but not in this depth. Also, Jackie Onassis life revealed in a depth I had never known. It was a great and tragic love story.
I loved every page.
This reimagined account of Jackie and Maria is simply wonderful. You feel you get to know the characters. Wonderful history. Amazing writing. I could not put this book down!
I loved this book and immediately ordered another book by Gill Paul. This is a story about Jackie Kennedy and Onassis. It was well written and kept me up reading at night.
Loved it!!!
A few people have suggested i would enjoy Gill Paul’s books- they were right, i loved The second marriage – (or ‘Jackie and Maria’ in the US, which is the better title i think but hey) it was gorgeous, glorious and sumptious (am i using that right?) the perfect escape. its the story of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas- and their relationships with Aristotle Onasis. its full of charming men and women who love too much and super-yachts and parties, opera and assassinations- there, ive gone and made it sound like a superficial book- it isnt at all – Gill Paul gets deep, deep into the psyche of these two women, sort of but not quite rivals, and created something utterly magical.
i enjoyed this book very much. must read
Reads like a true biography. I was surprised it’s fiction. Really enjoyed it.
Gives insight into the lives of two women that I’ve always wondered about.
Gil Paul’s books suck you in with the historical background. Her characters are well-known but often with a different fictional twist.
Jackie and Maria is the story of a love triangle between Jackie Kennedy, Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis. Gill Paul always does a fabulous job seamlessly blending fact with fiction. I loved reading from both Jackie AND Maria’s viewpoints. I am a huge Kennedy fan and loved reading about Jackie(flaws and all) and learning more about Maria and Ari. Gill Paul is an auto buy author for me. I highly recommend this book!
Everyone alive in the US, and probably Europe in the 1960s and 70s knew who Jackie Kennedy Onassis was, and the strange improbability of her marriage with Onassis.
Most who were paying attention knew of his involvement with Maria Callas, and there was a lot of speculation about the three at the time. This, though not a work of non-fiction, offers a very intriguing and quite possible set of scenarios involving the three and what was happening around them at the time. Very readable and interesting, it kept me reading until the wee hours.
I was so eager to read this book and see how Paul would masterfully weave Jackie’s story with history and emotion. She has such a terrific storytelling skill and I was ready to be whisked away on another adventure within the pages of this book.
I already knew a bit about these two dynamic women from previous books, but I knew there would be so much more to learn and enjoy through Paul’s words.
I was in awe of how she took these real people and crafted such a fantastic fictional reality around them. They were so vividly written and it made me feel like I was right there alongside watching their lives and dramas play out.
This book was so different from the previous book that I have read by Paul and yet it was such entertaining perfection. I truly enjoyed the extras at the end as well; it was great knowing which parts were truly ficitionalized, what tweaks she made to the timelines, and also what happened with everyone after.
I very much enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who wants to spend some time immersing themselves amongst the rich and fabulous.
This was a reading experience I won’t soon forget.
Highly recommended…
Novelised accounts of true lives aren’t easy to pull off at the best of times, and particularly so when the subjects are as well known as Maria Callas and Jacqueline Kennedy. Here, the author freely admits in her afterword that she departed from the facts on occasion to write the story she wanted.
Some people might question the validity of this approach but I have no problem provided the author comes clean!
So what we got was a historical romance about the two women’s relationships with Aristotle Onassis that’s a bit light on fact but made a good read, ideal for relaxing with on a summer afternoon. (Regrettably, not on a super-yacht with a view of the sparkling Aegean!)
The author is good at portraying the glamorous world of private jets, yachts, designer frocks, and rivers of champagne that her subjects inhabited. She also draws vivid portraits of the three main characters.
On the whole, I thought the plot worked well, although in the middle, my interest flagged a little bit as the scenes became rather repetitive. At over 450 pages, I thought the book was slightly too long. Fortunately, the pace picked up again. Jackie’s struggle with acute anxiety evoked sympathy and the dark side of her life wasn’t ignored. Her struggle to go on after Jack Kennedy’s assassination went some way to explaining the attraction to Onassis who would look after her. It made him out to be a bit more to her than the “blank cheque” that some people unkindly claimed she wanted him as.
Generally, there was more sympathy for Callas, who was probably the true love of his life. I believe that in reality, however, a lot of people found her a very difficult woman. i received a copy of this from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
(The book is entitled The Second Wife in the UK edition)
A moving and close to the truth portrayal of two larger than life women, their relationships with another larger than life man—that can be a difficult one to write! But the book reads seamlessly and always kept my interest. A good one!