”[The Summer I Met Jack] offers an alternate Kennedy family history that will leave readers wondering whether America knew the real JFK at all.” –Kirkus Reviews New York Times bestselling author imagines the affair between John F. Kennedy and Alicia Corning Clark – and the child they may have had. Based on a real story – in 1950, a young, beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, … beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, Massachusetts to work as a maid for one of the wealthiest families in America. Alicia is at once dazzled by the large and charismatic family, in particular the oldest son, a rising politician named Jack.
Alicia and Jack are soon engaged, but his domineering father forbids the marriage. And so, Alicia trades Hyannisport for Hollywood, and eventually Rome. She dates famous actors and athletes and royalty, including Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, and Katharine Hepburn, all the while staying close with Jack. A decade after they meet, on the eve of Jack’s inauguration as the thirty-fifth President of the United States, the two must confront what they mean to each other.
The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable is based on the fascinating real life of Alicia Corning Clark, a woman who J. Edgar Hoover insisted was paid by the Kennedys to keep quiet, not only about her romance with Jack Kennedy, but also a baby they may have had together.
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“Did JFK and Alicia Corning Clark have a secret love child? The article that then turn into Michelle Gable’s newest novel – The Summer I Met Jack. Prior to reading this book, I didn’t know much about this particular generation of Kennedy’s besides my limited impression of a rich, powerful large family with many known reports of infidelity, and accusations of wrong doings. (I was much more interested in JFK, Jr, Caroline and Maria Shriver generations. I actually met JFK Jr while working at the Dept of Justice in Washington, DC. Beyond handsome and left a down to earth impression.) So, what limited knowledge I had of the 1950’s Kennedy’s, I can certainly see the events written in The Summer I Met Jack as plausible.
Gable has written a fictionalize story of the real-life love affair of Alicia Corning Clark and then-congressman Jack Kennedy (pre-President JFK days). This is a fantastic novel that will keep you thinking about the main characters long after you finish it. It has a political spin that feels current today though it’s set in the 1950’s. The characters feel very real and like I was right there with Jack and Alicia in the 1950s as I was reading.
I have a beautiful home,” she said. “And more money than I could ever spend. But before all of this, there was one year in Hyannisport, when, for one bright shining moment, I had it all.”
Alicia was a Polish Jew, a displaced person from the war who emigrated to the United States in 1950. She had many names over the years, led a complex life, often finding herself drawn back to Jack Kennedy, making the same mistakes over and over.
“I’ll make my way, somehow. Surviving is what I do best.”
All quotes and headlines included in this novel were taken from actual publications. It is evident that Gable completed tons of research to weave facts into this fictional tale. I truly enjoyed this story, and I for one have spent too much time on my computer learning about the life of Alicia and the older generation of Kennedy’s. Well done!
Thank you St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley for the review copy
“Where does truth end and fiction begin?” asks the author.
In this book, it is very hard to tell. So much of the story is based on facts well known and documented through the years. Fiction (if it is fiction) is very cleverly woven into the plot. The Kennedy family is given most unflattering treatment throughout the novel. Fact or fiction?
The story begins in the early 1950’s soon after WWII at the family compound in Hyannis port Massachusetts. Jack seems already on his way in sexual exploits. During that summer, he meets a girl he loves, yet cannot marry due to family ambitions. There are many encounters and they declare their forever love, but are aware of the fact that the relationship cannot survive.
We are left to wonder about the two lovers, what could have happened if in fact, it did happen? Fact or fiction?
I enjoyed this book and it had some insights into the less known members of the Kennedy family as well.
Interesting read!
I really enjoy reading historical fiction and this book fit right into that genre. This story is intriguing with it being written from facts the author researched and filled in the “gaps” with a plausible scenario. I think Michelle Gable wrote a fantastic novel that had me captured into the story of Alicia’s love affair with John F. Kennedy. My heart yearned with hers. She loved JFK and wanted to live her life with him. One of the lines in the book said it so wonderfully, “Jack Kennedy was not the best lover she’d had, but he was the one she loved best.” Another line Alicia said was, “That’s how love goes. It has a way of taking over a person’s life.” I learned so much about how the Kennedy family was. It was a well written and fascinating “look” at a part of history. TY Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and to Michelle Gable for writing a page turner that kept me up way past my bedtime!
I have always been obsessed with the Kennedy’s. The Summer I Met Jack fed my obsession and I had a hard time putting it down. Michelle Gable did an amazing job researching! I ended up falling down a Kennedy rabbit hole after reading this book and different accounts of Alicia Darr’s life. This book is fiction but is based on real life people and events. Loved it!
We meet Alicia,a Polish immigrant who works at a movie theate in Boston, Massachusetts In working the refreshment stand, she meets a young man, John Kennedy. i was hooked from the first page. This was my first book of Ms. Gables but not my last.
Everyone has heard of the Kennedy’s but this is a little known love story of Jack and Alicia Corning Clark. I had never heard of this story and with an interesting reason why. When your family doesn’t approve of your fiancee and they have HUGE plans for you, you have to make a choice. Alicia and JFK had a beautiful love story until his family gets in the way. Alicia led a very interesting life after her time with JFK. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you love all things Kennedy this is the book you need to read! I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
The Kennedys have always been a fascination for many Americans and this story adds to the mystery that surrounds them. Alicia Darr survives WWII in Poland and eventually moves to the USA. She meets Jack Kennedy and we follow their decade long love affair. Michelle Gable had to do a ton of research for this story and weave together facts with fiction to create a book that is hard to put down. It had me googling many names and situations to find out more or the “real” story. I love Gable’s storytelling and that I always learn something from her novels. I look forward to her next book!
A fascinating look at the Kennedy family, Jack and Alicia Corning Clark. Could not put this one down. Amazing attention to details. Definitely 5 stars.
A displaced person struggling to hold her own, the beautiful Polish immigrant Alicia Darr is hired by the Kennedys as a maid. She is entranced by their charismatic son Jack, beginning her on a whirlwind romance with dramatic highs and lows. The couple gets engaged, but Alicia’s hidden past proves unacceptable to the influential Kennedy family.
From war-torn Europe to classy Hyannis Port to old Hollywood, Alicia lives a life of intrigue, passion, and secrets. From her famous beaus to scandalous relationships, she is a liability to the ambitious Kennedy’s. Most of all she holds a secret that if ever proven could change the course of history.
Michelle Gable, bestselling author of A Paris Apartment and I’ll See You in Paris, delivers a dramatic narrative of the secret love affair of Alicia Corning Clark and John F. Kennedy. Providing an inside look at Kennedy family relations and some shocking insight into their mystique, this book will hook you in with its renowned names and dramatic possibilities.
The amount of research that Michelle Gable put in this book amazes me. I love how she found the facts, and introduced the “what if?” For someone that knows next to nothing about the people, she truly brought them to life and made them shine in a way that history books can’t. Everyone should read this book!
It could have happened. What it portrays fits in with what I knew about JFK, while suggesting a hidden part of his past from the other person’s viewpoint. I alternated between wanting to shake her and understanding why she made her choices. The ending carried into a new generation was both surprising and satisfying.
Very interesting
I enjoyed this book because it gave me a behind the scenes look at President Kennedy that I’m sure few people knew about him. He was always portrayed as a great man but truth be told I didn’t admire the way he treated women after reading this book.
Book was OK……really nothing new about JFK and his miserable morals
The book was interesting.
I love reading about real people.
Great book. Couldn’t put it down. Excellent writing and story line.
Very good fiction about Kennedy’s which I feel interesting family
Interesting book about JFK and a woman displaced from her homeland due to the War. I was not impressed with the Kennedy family. I was excited to read the book and I’m still thinking about it days after I finished it. Thought provoking.
Didn’t finish it.