#ReadThis CAMERA GIRL The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony @simonschuster @FIRSTLADYHISTRY
Rich in storytelling and with details that intrigue the reader, Camera Girl is a hit by Carl Sferrazza Anthony published by Simon and Schuster. We love that it is the Jackie Kennedy story prior that starts that the beginning and captures the essence of who she was before becoming famous.
"People often forget that I was Jacqueline Bouvier, before being Mrs. Kennedy or Mrs. Onassis. Throughout my life I have tried to remain true to myself."
--Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
Becoming distinct was central to her character (p. 7) and her rule breaking (Part II) and most of all the Leica camera (p. 70) define her nature which is shown in a light we have not seen before. The newfound perspective is not often found in previously published biographies on Jackie, and Camera Girl is packed with stories that will regale and entertain you.
The Inquiring Photographer (p. 177) may not be exactly what you thought, and the newspaper business back in her time is illustrative of the formation of her character. The Shopgirls (p. 219) shows what she found interesting to highlight and we also commend the photographs included in the middle of this book which were loved by all.
Her contribution to history including France defending its colonial control of Indochina (p. 236) you may not have realized! The intellectual connection between Jackie and Jack Kennedy was also superlatively examined and another positive aspect of Camera Girl. One is left thinking: "What if Jackie was President?"
Finally, in light of the recent coronation of King Charles (thank you British Consulate!), it was fun to hear about her experience at Queen Elizabeth's.
Camera Girl is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know!
CAMERA GIRL: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony (Gallery Books; Hardcover; on-sale May 2nd) is unlike other biographies of Jackie as it is an in-depth study of a specific period in the Future First Lady’s life: her coming of age from 1949 – 1953.
While Jackie Bouvier Kennedy is often seen as someone whose rise to fame can be attributed solely to privilege, CAMERA GIRL examines how much intention she lived with and how methodical she was. The book tracks her time in Paris during college, her employment with the Washington Times-Herald, through her meeting and courtship with Senator Kennedy. More substantially, she helped Senator Kennedy formulate his views on “the Vietnam question,” writing a groundbreaking report for him in 1953, whose contents are examined for the first time in this book.
Within a period of thirty-five days in May and early June 1951, Jackie graduated college, learned that she had won the prestigious Vogue Prix de Paris writing contest (which her mother forced her to turn down), withdrew her father from a rehab center, and met John F. Kennedy.
At the Times-Herald, Jackie Bouvier proved herself enough to take over the "Inquiring Photographer" column which was rebranded "Inquiring Camera Girl" for her; over 600 columns were published. Interviewing six strangers six days a week, the column posed questions that were confrontational (“What are you living for?” “Does hope ever die?” “When did you discover women aren’t the weaker sex?” “What is the greatest need in the world today?” “Can you spare fourteen cents? What were you thinking just as I came up to
you?”) seemingly prescient in retrospect (“What do you know about Lincoln’s assassination?” “Would you want your son to become President?” “Would you like to be famous?” “Would your life make a good movie?” “Does money make people happy?”) or were counter-intuitive (asking psychiatrists, “How are you maladjusted?”; asking truck drivers, “What do you think of Dior’s New Look?; asking clowns, “Does your smiling face hide a broken heart?). Through her persistence, Jackie was also able to get six feature articles published in the newspaper (apart from her column), including coverage of Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration and Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
In CAMERA GIRL, Carl Sferrazza Anthony uncovers handwritten notes Jackie made for her first biographer that essentially amount to her memoir. He looks at letters Jackie wrote to her stepbrother Yusha, which reveal her intelligence and fierce drive. He also examines a tedious and lengthy report, much of it handwritten, that Jackie prepared for John F. Kennedy during their courtship, which she translated from French to English material about France's political, military, economic, and social control over Vietnam. This translated work became the basis of Senator Kennedy's first foreign policy speech as a senator, the one that put him on the map as a future Presidential candidate.
CAMERA GIRL also reveals the often-overlooked consideration of Jack and Jackie’s mutual ambition. They shared a vision of a free and democratic world and wanted the sort of power that would allow them to encourage its realization. While many assume that Jackie either ignored or didn’t know about her husband’s infidelity, CAMERA GIRL contends that when Jackie married Kennedy, she was fully aware he had relationships with other women and this would likely continue during the marriage. While Jackie Bouvier intended to continue her professional writing career after marriage, it was her father-in-law, Joseph P. Kennedy, who likely engineered her being let go by the newspaper because having her be a traditional wife was more politically advantageous at the time.
Offering a fresh perspective on the woman later known as Jacqueline Kennedy and Jackie O, CAMERA GIRL introduces readers to the headstrong, self-assured young woman who went on to become one of the world’s most famous people. It’s a glamorous and surprisingly hard-charged story of a person determined to define herself, told with admiration, empathy, and journalistic rigor.
CAMERA GIRL: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy
By Carl Sferrazza Anthony | Gallery Books | Pub Date: May 2nd, 2023 ISBN: 9781982141875| Hardcover
ISBN: 9781982141899| E-book | $14.99 ISBN: 9781797154275| Audio | $24.99
Carl Sferrazza Anthony is the author of a dozen books about presidents’ wives and families, including As We Remember Her: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the Words of Her Family and Friends; The Kennedy White House: Family Life and Pictures, 1961–1963; and the two-volume First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents’ Wives and Their Power, 1789–1990. He has served as guest curator for presidential library exhibits, written for numerous national publications, and served as contributing editor to the late John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s George magazine.
# # #
GALLERY BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, is an imprint dedicated to publishing a variety of must-read books on a wide array of topics. Launched in 2010, Gallery is designed to showcase established voices and to introduce emerging new ones—in both fiction and nonfiction. Gallery Books is the publisher of Five Presidents by Clint Hill, The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe, Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer, One by One and The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, The Problem with
Everything by Meghan Daum, American Like Me by America Ferrera, The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish, Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, and The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.
Simon & Schuster, a Paramount Company, is a global leader in general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world’s most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards. It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Adams Media, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, and proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.
