Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch by Barbara A. Perry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I actually rather liked this. My first foray into reading about the Kennedy clan (as an adult) had to be about Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. I’ve had both the Jackie and Teddy biographies lying about for a while, but decided to start with the matriarch.
I realize that it is very different what we prefer in biographies, but for me, this was a good read. It did go into the details around things, though not to the nitty gritty on everything. Also, it didn’t spend ages looking at what the individual Kennedys were doing; the children and husband were almost only mentioned as they pertained to Rose and her reactions to their antics.
But apart from that, with this method of doing it, it also means that when I read the next Kennedy biography, I won’t have heard everything before.
At the same time, it was rather neutral, not painting anyone with an overly rosy picture – not even Rose.
I could have done without the emphasis on all her traveling, though, as at one point it just got to be enough to read about even if she did do all the traveling.
I feel I got a good read through of the book, and it whet my appetite for reading more about the rest of them.
