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Kick

The True Story of Kick Kennedy, JFK’s Forgotten Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth

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Kick

By: Paula Byrne
Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
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About this listen

The remarkable life of the vivacious, clever – and forgotten – Kennedy sister, who charmed the English aristocracy and was almost erased from her family history.

The favourite child of Joe Kennedy and favourite sister of Jack, Kick Kennedy was spirited, vivacious and legendary for her charm. When the Kenndys sailed to Britain in 1938 she was presented as a debutante amid the pre-war social whirl of the British aristocracy. Here she met a shy, tall, handsome man called Billy, and, rebelling against family, faith, and country, soon married him. He was William Cavendish, heir to Chatsworth and the Duke of Devonshire, the most eligible bachelor in England. But their days of married bliss proved short, as war would bring tragedy and loss.

Uncovering her spectacular life in full for the first time, Paula Byrne depicts a remarkable woman who bewitched the Churchills, Astors and Mitfords, and yet was almost erased from Kennedy family history.

 Entertainment & Celebrities Historical Parenting & Families Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State Women Celebrity War United Kingdom Winston Churchill

Critic reviews

‘Byrne conjures such a vivid portrait of her enchanting heroine that one almost feels deprived never having met her’ Daily Mail, Book of the Week

‘Byrne is engagingly smitten with her subject … Sentence by sentence, the book is a joy: a fresh take on the exceedingly well-worn theme of the Kennedy family. Byrne recounts the dramas of the end of her life with great pace and a poignancy that is all the more affecting for not being overdone’ Guardian

‘Byrne does a fine job rescuing Kick from undeserved obscurity, providing an important chapter to the story of this dazzling doomed dynasty’ The Times

‘Sparkling … fast-paced … transfixing’ Sunday Times

‘This absolutely enthralling biography is written by an expert hand… Her narrative is deceptively easy and fluid, cleverly belying the enormous weight and variety of her source materials’ Irish Independent

‘An exciting, heartbreakingly tense love story’ Kirkus Review

‘Written with panache … as engaging as its subject’ Sunday Express

‘A fun-loving American charms the English aristocracy with her wit and sangfroid, overcoming prejudice to win the heart of London’s most eligible bachelor … Paula Byrne … recaptures her brief but fascinating story’ Vogue

‘This very sad story is at the heart of Paula Byrne's excellent biography … supported by impressive research’ Financial Times

‘Sympathetic and faced-paced … Byrne’s portrait of the Kennedy’s at home is transfixing’ Sunday Times

‘A compelling biography … Byrne is to be commended for handling the formidable task with aplomb. She has produced a lively work … allowing [Kick’s] warmth, charisma and legendary vitality to shine through’ Country Life

‘Absolutely enthralling … Paula Byrne's narrative is deceptively easy and fluid cleverly belying the enormous weight and variety of her resource material’ Irish Independent

All stars
Most relevant
Clivedon is not like the name Clive but like live
Nee as in surname prior to marriage is not like knee but nay (French nee)
To name just a few annoyances!

Reader pronunciation

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I read and enjoyed this book years ago and so was tempted by the audible, big mistake. I quite liked the narrator, until it came to her repeated astonishingly poor and peculiar mispronunciation of so many words in regular usage in the English language. As with another reviewer I cringed at Cliveden but even more so at the mispronunciation of Lord Louis Mountbatten, mispronounced as “Lewis”! Unbelievable!
The book however is excellent and I notice the author has done a biography on Jane Austen which sounds appealing. Unfortunately listening to a sample doesn’t guarantee that the narrator will remain consistently satisfactory.

Great book, poor narration.

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This is an interesting and revealing story but it's repetitive and badly edited; you hear the same chunk repeated within the same chapter and the author also pads it out a lot. The narration is flat but the most irritating thing is the narrator's inconsistency with the same word and incorrect pronunciation of common phrases and names. One that sticks out is née (born) which she pronounces like knee, but there are many other errors that an editor should have corrected. Was the editor asleep?

Irritating narration

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I liked everything about this book . It was absorbing , interesting and poignant . It also included interesting background about life in the Second World War

A fascinating story about a fascinating woman

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Would you listen to Kick: The True Story of Kick Kennedy, JFK's Forgotten Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth again? Why?

Yes. It's made me curious about the Kennedy family and Chatsworth so would return to it after reading more about them.

What did you like best about this story?

The perfect mix of information and nostalgia. A sensitive account.

What about Antonia Beamish’s performance did you like?

Brilliant. Right pace, tone and got the various accents spot on in my opinion.

Any additional comments?

My favourite biography to date. Will be reading/listening to more from Paula Byrne.

Loved it

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