White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port

Journalist Storey debuts with an immersive behind-the-scenes history of the Kennedy family viewed through the lens of their summer home in Hyannis Port, Mass. Malcolm Cottage, built in 1904, became known as the Big House after Joseph Kennedy bought it in 1928 for $25,000. He doubled its footprint to accommodate his nine children, who started bringing their own families in the 1950s, when “it seemed every new year brought a new Kennedy.” It was at the Big House that Rose and Joe Kennedy learned that their eldest son, Joe Jr., was killed in action during WWII; decades later, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, and her sister died in a plane crash off the coast of nearby Martha’s Vineyard. Storey enriches her history in interviews with more than 120 sources—including Kennedy family friend Nancy Tenney, who was “like one of the children”—and sheds light on Joseph Kennedy’s affair with actress Gloria Swanson, the bad behavior of Robert Kennedy Jr. and other members of the “Hyannis Port Terrors” in the 1970s, Ted Kennedy’s final days spent battling a brain tumor at the Big House, and more. Full of vivid profiles and intriguing asides about the history of Cape Cod, this is a compassionate portrait of America’s most famous political dynasty. Agent: Susan Canavan, Waxman Literary. (June)