“Absolutely irresistible.”—Kim Hubbard, People (Best Books of Summer 2022) "What a pleasure . . . Bayard is such an exuberant storyteller . . . This stylish, sexy, nostalgic story will linger like Jackie’s signature scent of Pall Malls and Chateau Krigler 12. It’s a complicated bouquet of bitter and sweet."—Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review “A delight…a poignant, late-summer-afternoon kind of novel. ...a story perfectly tuned to our ongoing fascination with the Kennedy marriage — and a novel, like Jackie herself, with charm to spare.”—The Washington Post “Lem Billings was John F. Kennedy’s prep school roommate and a close friend. He was also gay. This captivating work of historical fiction offers an intimate look into Lem’s relationships with the charismatic young senator and the budding journalist Jacqueline Bouvier, whom JFK enlists Lem to vet.”—People (Book of the Week) “The charms of Bayard’s delightful new novel about Jackie Kennedy aren’t only found in its historical context but also in its intelligent, witty tone and poignant dissection of friendship, class and betrayal. The outcome is surprisingly affecting, and Bayard’s gamble of embarking on a well-known path from an unusual perspective pays off handsomely.”—Connie Ogle, Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Narrator Lem is reminiscent of The Great Gatsby’s Nick Carraway … Jackie, she’s pure delight … Romance with bite: the perfect escapism for today’s anxious times.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Here he brings a poignant empathy, persuasive intimacy, and nuanced imagination to his interpretation of a relatively unexamined chapter in Kennedy lore.”—Booklist (starred review) “Bayard (Courting Mr. Lincoln) offers an enchanting narrative of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Jacqueline Bouvier…delightfully dishy… Bayard suffuses the spritzy story with wit, charm, and depth. The result is tailor-made for fans of Camelot drama.”—Publishers Weekly "All of Louis Bayard’s incredible gifts as a teller of stories we think we already know are on brilliant display here: a captivating setting, unforgettable characters, and an entirely surprising take on a familiar tale. Jackie Me is riveting, funny, charming, and haunting. He makes it look so easy! I will happily follow Bayard wherever he leads."—Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest and Good Company "A loving and romantic look at an unlikely friendship told with a playful command of language that feels as effortless as it is exciting. Bayard possesses a singular wit and deftly uses it to give fresh insight into even his best known characters. I never wanted it to end."—Steven Rowley, author of The Editor and The Guncle "I absolutely adore this novel! It’s a testament to Louis Bayard’s remarkable gifts as storyteller how suspenseful it is given that we already know this story… or do we? Full of Bayard’s trademark charm and wit, with prose that sings and a perfect voice, Jackie Me delighted me from beginning to end."—Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek "We all dream of novels as good as this one: Fascinating, funny, gorgeous, heartbreaking. In my next life I want to be Louis Bayard."—Julia Claiborne Johnson, author of Be Frank With Me and Better Luck Next Time “A startling rendering of Jackie Kennedy’s life written with panache and daring.”—Laurence Leamer, bestselling author of The Kennedy Women and Capote's Women "It's hard to combine wit and tender-heartedness in a single book, but Louis Bayard has produced a lovely amalgam in Jackie and Me. This latest subtly crafted addition to his oeuvre boasts a top-notch structure and the best-ever depiction of 'Papa Joe' Kennedy, as well as a portrait of Janet Auchincloss, Jackie’s mother, that is poisonous perfection."—Thomas Mallon, author of Henry and Clara and WatergatePraise for Courting Mr. Lincoln: “An exquisite historical reimagining of a love acknowledged—and a longing denied.”—People “Bayard has written eight other novels, and he’s extraordinarily gifted at blending provocative fiction with history. The details of [Mary Todd and Lincoln’s] courtship are lovely to read, but Lincoln’s time with Speed is much more riveting. At book’s end, who’s courting Lincoln remains an enticing mystery.”—The Washington Post “Bayard's masterful command of language enchants and thrills; his meticulous, almost otherworldly, understanding of his historical subject awes and inspires . . . Courting Mr. Lincoln is Bayard at his absolute best. He offers more reasons to love one of the most admired presidents in U.S. history and proves yet again why he himself is one of the nation's greatest literary gems.”—Shelf Awareness “Thoroughly researched and thrillingly plotted . . . Filled with rich historical detail and compulsively readable, Courting Mr. Lincoln is a story of a best friend, a future wife, and the political legend that they came together to create, each leaving an indelible mark on the man that would one day become president. Fans of historical fiction will be up late into the night to uncover the next chapter of this fascinating time in history.”—New York Journal of BooksPraise for Louis Bayard’s Previous Work:
“A tour de force.”—Publishers Weekly
“Brilliantly plotted and completely absorbing.”—Sunday Times (London)
“Shimmering, knock-your-socks-off language.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction, rendering the past as if he’d witnessed it firsthand.”—The New York Times
"Captivating . . . the novel offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these iconic figures"—HillRag
★ 04/01/2022
Lem Billings, John F. Kennedy's roommate from boarding school, takes center stage in this imagining of JFK's courtship of Jackie. Billings knows Kennedy to be a true friend who opened up both the doors of power and to his own family, the rambunctious Kennedy tribe, to him after Lem lost his own father. He also knows that JFK has never been, and will never be, faithful to any woman. But the time for John to ally himself with someone suitable is coming. JFK's political star is rising and, to be elected to the US Senate in the 1950s, he needs to be married. Jacqueline Bouvier, raised to marry into wealth, seems to fit the bill. Lem is deputized to ensure that Jackie understands her role in her future marriage, but at the fateful moment, Lem fails both Jackie and JFK. VERDICT Bayard (Courting Mr. Lincoln) is a master of historical fiction; this exquisite book is no exception. This is a love triangle in which the future president is tragically incapable of fully returning the love given to him by both Jackie and Lem. A necessary purchase for public libraries.—Jennie Mills
★ 2022-02-08
Bayard imagines Jack and Jackie Kennedy’s momentous courtship through the eyes of Lem Billings, the future president's lifelong best friend.
Everyone knows how things turned out—every strand of Kennedy lore has been examined repeatedly. Bayard doesn't change names or reveal new facts (and an author’s note pointedly acknowledges that he's made up a plot point concerning Lem). Instead Bayard produces an “alternative history” evincing these very public figures’ inner lives while considering how different choices might have led to different outcomes. While Lem Billings was an actual Kennedy intimate, narrator Lem is reminiscent of The Great Gatsby’s Nick Carraway, and his fictional reminiscences structure the novel around the triangular friendship he shares with Jack and Jackie in the years leading up to their wedding in the early 1950s. The result is a meditation on the definitions, possibilities, and failures of friendship. The real Lem survived homophobic times semicloseted. Here Lem is portrayed as a heartbreaking mix of fear, loyalty, and perception who watches as Jackie is sucked into the Kennedy maelstrom. She can’t stand Jack’s family but also can’t resist Jack, a presence as indefinable as quicksilver, calculating yet straightforward, treacherous with women yet remembered by Lem as the “finest” of men. A dedicated lothario, Jack has no interest in marriage, but his family’s political ambitions for him require a wife, and Jackie meets Kennedy prerequisites. How deeply Jack grows to care for her remains unclear, but he does not want her to marry under false pretenses and asks Lem to make sure Jackie understands what to expect. Too softhearted, Lem sidesteps the brutal facts. Almost 30 years later, facing his own sexual identity crisis, he sees how his silence failed both Kennedys. Lem’s pre-AIDS 1981 now seems almost as innocent as his 1950s. As for Jackie, she’s pure delight—beautiful of course, naïve but self-aware, her keen intellect showing small glints of the tough resilience she’ll need later on when she's become an icon.
Romance with bite: the perfect escapism for today’s anxious times.
