Play Audiobook Sample
Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(0.00) - 0 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, an electrifying re-examination of one of the 20th century’s greatest unsung power players
When Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, the obituaries that followed were predictably scathing – and many were downright sexist. Written off as a mere courtesan and social climber, her true legacy was overshadowed by a glamorous social life and her infamous erotic adventures. Much of what she did behind the scenes – on both sides of the Atlantic - remained invisible and secret. That is, until now: with a wealth of fresh research, interviews and newly discovered sources, Sonia Purnell unveils for the first time the full, spectacular story of how she left an indelible mark on the world today.
At age 20 Churchill’s beloved daughter-in-law became a “secret weapon” during World War II, strategically wining, dining, and seducing diplomats and generals to help win over American sentiment (and secrets) to the British cause against Hitler. After the war, she helped to transform Fiat heir Gianni Agnelli into Italy’s ‘uncrowned king’ on the international stage and after moving to the US brought a struggling Democratic party back to life, hand-picking Bill Clinton from obscurity and vaulting him to the presidency.
Picked as Ambassador to France, she deployed her legendary subtle powers to charm world leaders and help efforts to bring peace to Bosnia, playing her part in what was arguably the high-water mark of American global supremacy.
There are few at any time who have operated as close to the center of power over five decades and two continents, and there is practically no one in 20th Century politics, culture, and fashion whose lives she did not touch, including the Kennedys, Truman Capote, Aly Khan, Kay Graham, Gloria Steinem, Ed Murrow, and Frank Sinatra. Written with the novelistic richness and investigative rigor that only Sonia Purnell could bring to this story full of sex, politics, yachts, palaces and fabulous clothes, KINGMAKER re-asserts Harriman’s rightful place at the heart of history.
Download and start listening now!
"This is a deliciously seductive read. Sonia Purnell escorts readers behind the scenes, beneath the covers, and between the lines in an enthralling and exhaustive portrait of Pamela Harriman, whose life and legacy have long deserved the kind of insightful treatment that someone with Purnell’s storytelling talents can provide. Harriman stands fully and uncompromisingly on her own, a testament to Purnell’s sumptuous prose and unrelenting investigative talents—Kingmaker is masterfully wrought. —Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author of The Girls of Atomic City, The Last Castle, and We Gather Together A completely fascinating and revelatory biography, written with great aplomb, insight and shrewd analysis. A triumph. —William Boyd, Booker–nominated author of Any Human Heart With Kingmaker, Sonia Purnell emerges as one of the most accomplished biographers of our time. Once again, she gifts readers with a vivid, glittering, sexy, scintillating, beautifully written portrait of a woman who drove twentieth-century history even as history was driving her. Wife, courtesan, hostess, muse, mistress, social climber, fundraiser, ambassador: The English language has no single word to describe an ambitious female whose fate (across generations) depended on her skill at connecting, cajoling, wooing, and winning over. Today, of course, we'd call her a politician. Kingmaker is a rich and nuanced study of power—its allure, its perils, the gratifications and the great cost of its pursuit. —Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA A superb and fascinating account of Pamela Churchill Harriman's life. It certainly puts the record straight and I can't recommend it more. —Lady Anne Glenconner, bestselling author of Lady in Waiting A perfumed seductress with a big heart and even bigger hair, Pamela Harriman trailed jewels and luxury as she befriended everyone from Sinatra and Mandela to Kennedy and Nixon. In Kingmaker, Sonia Purnell triumphantly resurrects this British-born aristocrat (and daughter-in-law of Winston Churchill) whose life was intertwined with many of the greatest movers and shakers of the twentieth century. Addicted to men with riches and power, Pamela's lack of formal education proved no handicap to her becoming President Clinton's hand-picked ambassador to France. Meticulously researched and served up with great panache, this is the biography that Pamela Harriman so richly deserves. —Giles Milton, author of The Stalin Affair: The Impossible Alliance that Won the War"
—
Quotes
-
A completely fascinating and revelatory biography, written with great aplomb, insight and shrewd analysis. A triumph.
— William Boyd, Booker–nominated author of Any Human Heart -
With Kingmaker, Sonia Purnell emerges as one of the most accomplished biographers of our time. Once again, she gifts readers with a vivid, glittering, sexy, scintillating, beautifully written portrait of a woman who drove twentieth-century history even as history was driving her. Wife, courtesan, hostess, muse, mistress, social climber, fundraiser, ambassador: The English language has no single word to describe an ambitious female whose fate (across generations) depended on her skill at connecting, cajoling, wooing, and winning over. Today, of course, we'd call her a politician. Kingmaker is a rich and nuanced study of power—its allure, its perils, the gratifications and the great cost of its pursuit.
— Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA -
A superb and fascinating account of Pamela Churchill Harriman's life. It certainly puts the record straight and I can't recommend it more.
— Lady Anne Glenconner, bestselling author of Lady in Waiting -
A perfumed seductress with a big heart and even bigger hair, Pamela Harriman trailed jewels and luxury as she befriended everyone from Sinatra and Mandela to Kennedy and Nixon. In Kingmaker, Sonia Purnell triumphantly resurrects this British-born aristocrat (and daughter-in-law of Winston Churchill) whose life was intertwined with many of the greatest movers and shakers of the twentieth century. Addicted to men with riches and power, Pamela's lack of formal education proved no handicap to her becoming President Clinton's hand-picked ambassador to France. Meticulously researched and served up with great panache, this is the biography that Pamela Harriman so richly deserves.
— Giles Milton, author of The Stalin Affair: The Impossible Alliance that Won the War -
A compulsively readable, multifaceted portrait of an oft-misunderstood woman whose role in twentieth-century geopolitics has, until now, been severely underappreciated.
— Booklist, Starred Review -
An incredible story, beautifully told, of a remarkable woman whose political influence spanned Churchill to Clinton. Quite a woman, quite a read.
— Alastair Campbell, former Director of Communication for the Prime Minister -
Wonderful … brilliantly readable and fair minded. Was there anyone else like Pamela Churchill Harriman? And will there ever be again?
— Anne Sebba, bestselling author of That Woman -
This is a deliciously seductive read. Sonia Purnell escorts readers behind the scenes, beneath the covers, and between the lines in an enthralling and exhaustive portrait of Pamela Harriman, whose life and legacy have long deserved the kind of insightful treatment that someone with Purnell’s storytelling talents can provide. Harriman stands fully and uncompromisingly on her own, a testament to Purnell’s sumptuous prose and unrelenting investigative talents—Kingmaker is masterfully wrought. —Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author of The Girls of Atomic City, The Last Castle, and We Gather Together A completely fascinating and revelatory biography, written with great aplomb, insight and shrewd analysis. A triumph. —William Boyd, Booker–nominated author of Any Human Heart With Kingmaker, Sonia Purnell emerges as one of the most accomplished biographers of our time. Once again, she gifts readers with a vivid, glittering, sexy, scintillating, beautifully written portrait of a woman who drove twentieth-century history even as history was driving her. Wife, courtesan, hostess, muse, mistress, social climber, fundraiser, ambassador: The English language has no single word to describe an ambitious female whose fate (across generations) depended on her skill at connecting, cajoling, wooing, and winning over. Today, of course, we'd call her a politician. Kingmaker is a rich and nuanced study of power—its allure, its perils, the gratifications and the great cost of its pursuit. —Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA A superb and fascinating account of Pamela Churchill Harriman's life. It certainly puts the record straight and I can't recommend it more. —Lady Anne Glenconner, bestselling author of Lady in Waiting A perfumed seductress with a big heart and even bigger hair, Pamela Harriman trailed jewels and luxury as she befriended everyone from Sinatra and Mandela to Kennedy and Nixon. In Kingmaker, Sonia Purnell triumphantly resurrects this British-born aristocrat (and daughter-in-law of Winston Churchill) whose life was intertwined with many of the greatest movers and shakers of the twentieth century. Addicted to men with riches and power, Pamela's lack of formal education proved no handicap to her becoming President Clinton's hand-picked ambassador to France. Meticulously researched and served up with great panache, this is the biography that Pamela Harriman so richly deserves. —Giles Milton, author of The Stalin Affair: The Impossible Alliance that Won the War
-
a vibrant portrait of an influential political player … Meticulous research informs a captivating biography.
— Starred Kirkus Review -
a vibrant portrait of an influential political player … Meticulous research informs a captivating biography.
— Kirkus, Starred Review -
A compulsively readable, multifaceted portrait of an oft-misunderstood woman whose role in twentieth-century geopolitics has, until now, been severely underappreciated.
— Booklist, Starred Review -
This is a deliciously seductive read. Sonia Purnell escorts readers behind the scenes, beneath the covers, and between the lines in an enthralling and exhaustive portrait of Pamela Harriman, whose life and legacy have long deserved the kind of insightful treatment that someone with Purnell’s storytelling talents can provide. Harriman stands fully and uncompromisingly on her own, a testament to Purnell’s sumptuous prose and unrelenting investigative talents—Kingmaker is masterfully wrought.
— Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author of The Girls of Atomic City, The Last Castle, and We Gather Together
Kingmaker Listener Reviews
Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
About Sonia Purnell
Sonia Purnell is a biographer and journalist who has worked at the London Economist, Telegraph, and the Sunday Times. Her book Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill was chosen as a Book of the Year by the London Telegraph and Independent and was a finalist for the Plutarch Award. A Woman of No Importance was longlisted for the 2020 PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography. Her first book, Just Boris, was longlisted for the Orwell prize.
About Louise Brealey
Louise Brealey, AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator, studied history at Cambridge University before studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Manhattan. On television, she appeared in the long-running medical drama Casualty on BBC One in 2002, appearing in ninety-six episodes. Afterwards, she appeared in the BBC serialization of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, as well as Hotel Babylon, Law & Order: UK, Ripper Street, and in all series of Sherlock as Molly Hooper.