American Lady : The Life of Susan Mary Alsop

The fascinating story of one of the grand dames of Georgetown society and a true Washington insider Henry Kissinger once remarked that more agreements were concluded in the living room of Susan Mary Alsop than in the White House. A descendent of Founding Father John Jay, Susan Mary was an American aristocrat whose first marriage gave her full access to post-war diplomatic social life in Paris. There, her circle of friends included Winston Churchill, Isaiah Berlin, Evelyn Waugh, and Christian Dior, among other luminaries, and she had a passionate love affair with British ambassador Duff Cooper. During the golden years of John F. Kennedy’s presidency—after she had married the powerful journalist Joe Alsop—her Washington home was a gathering place for everyone of importance, including Katharine Graham, Robert McNamara, and Henry Kissinger. Dubbed “the second lady of Camelot,” she hosted dinner parties that were the epitome of political power and social arrival, bringing together the movers and shakers not just of the United States, but of the world. Featuring an introduction by Susan Mary Alsop’s goddaughter Frances FitzGerald, American Lady is a fascinating chronicle of a woman who witnessed, as Nancy Mitford once said, “history on the boil.” An American aristocrat--a descendant of founding father John Jay--Susan Mary Alsop (1918-2004) knew absolutely everyone and brought together the movers and shakers of not just the United States, but the world. Henry Kissinger remarked that more agreements were concluded in her living room than in the White House. In 1945 Susan Mary joined her first husband, a young diplomat, in Paris, where she was at the center of the postwar diplomatic social circuit, dining with Churchill, FDR, Garbo, and many others. Widowed in 1960, she married journalist and power broker Joe Alsop. Dubbed "the Second Lady of Camelot," Susan Mary hosted dinner parties that were the epitome of political power and social arrival. She reigned over Georgetown society for four decades; her house was the gathering place for everyone of importance, from John F. Kennedy to Katharine Graham. After divorcing Alsop, she embarked on a literary career, publishing four books before her death at 86.--From publisher description