Finding Jackie: A Life Reinvented

Scholar Eaton re-examines the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in her striking debut. In reintroducing Onassis, Eaton writes of how “she was always one step ahead” and able to reinvent herself when necessary. Born into old money in Southampton, N.Y., in 1929, Onassis “consciously stepped outside the rarefied world she’d been born into” to become a photographer at the Washington Times-Herald after boarding school. Her 1953 marriage to John F. Kennedy (a “radical choice”) put her on the world stage, and she later won widespread admiration for her glamorous turn as first lady and her remodel of the White House that brought American art into the spotlight. After JFK’s assassination, Onassis redefined his presidency as “Camelot” before marrying Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Eaton hints at Onassis’s sense of being tethered to the Kennedy family, describing how she attempted to construct a new identity as Mrs. Onassis and “having something of a feminist awakening” before Aristotle’s death in 1975. Eaton closes with Jackie’s decision to live “on her own terms,” expertly drawing out Onassis’s veiled longing to establish her own identity and be measured apart from her husbands. Feminists and pop culture fans will delight in this spirited reconsideration of an American icon. Agent: William LoTurco, LoTurco Literary. (Jan.)