My Three Fathers: And the Elegant Deceptions of My Mother, Susan Mary Alsop

by Bill Patten

Overview

Bill Patten grew up in the heart of privileged society to American parents -- a debutante mother, a diplomatic father -- stationed in Europe. Weekends away from his English boarding school were often spent at the regal country estates of important policy makers and historical figures of the mid-twentieth century. When Bill was twelve years old, his father, William Patten, died, and his mother remarried the renowned columnist Joe Alsop. Patten was swept into Washington during the Kennedy years, where he bore witness to his stepfather's legendary power-brokering, and watched a very different father figure at work.

In 1996, when he was forty-seven years old, Bill Patten learned that his biological father was not William Patten, but the noted English diplomat, Duff Cooper. In this quest to know his triumvirate of fathers, Bill Patten offers an unforgettable memoir. My Three Fathers is a search for identity -- and a luscious chronicle of a fascinating, bygone era of American aristocracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786721719
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	07/01/2008
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Bill Patten is a businessman with thirty years experience in real estate development. From 1978 to 1996 he published weekly newspapers in Maine. He has three children, two stepchildren, and three grandchildren. He lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, with his wife and stepdaughter.

Table of Contents

Family Trees     ix
Introduction     xiii
The Butler of St. Mary's     1
Yankees at the Court     21
An Incident at Sea     43
The Smell of Fear     51
The Making of a Warrior     67
Dangerous Liaisons     79
Standing Up to Hitler     97
Keeping the Fire Lit     115
The Sad Brave Smile     139
Nabbing My Mother     167
In Camelot's Court     193
Making the Club     213
Launched by Joe     231
Mother Breaks Away     255
Facing Demons     271
A Partnership Restored     289
Leaving Lotus Land     303
The Long Good-bye     315
Looking at the Box     331
Meeting the Stranger     339
Notes     349
Acknowledgments     363
Index     367

Editorial Reviews

Patten, a real estate developer and former Maine newspaper publisher, was born into a prominent and successful family. This is the intensely personal story of his surprising search to fully know his identity. He begins in 1995 with his discovery, at age 47, that the man he was named after and considered his father was not actually his biological father. His natural father was Duff Cooper, the British Conservative cabinet minister, who died in 1954. Patten then tells of how, with this knowledge, he began to look at his own life anew; at the many lives of his mother, a descendant of John Jay; and, ultimately, at the three men with whom his mother was most involved and who shaped his life. By means of his own memories, family letters, and newspaper reports, he pieces together a newly understood personal history. His early years, with the man he believed to be his father, were spent as the privileged namesake of an American diplomat. Bill Patten Sr. died when Patten Jr. was just 12; his mother then married renowned columnist Joseph Alsop. In the Alsop household, young Patten was swept up in the political and social life of Washington during the "Camelot" years of the JFK presidency. Overall, this is a fascinating journey through the author's life, illuminated by personal photographs and told against the backdrop of the larger events of the era. Recommended for all public libraries as well as large undergraduate libraries.
—Lisa A. Ennis

Library Journal