American Adulterer

American Adulterer

by JedMercurio (Author)

Synopsis

In his study of John F. Kennedy's womanizing, Mercurio never demonizes his subject, instead offering a sympathetic portrait of a virtuous man in the grip of an uncontrollable vice. From its opening line, explores the life of a habitual womanizer in hypnotically clinical prose. The subject regards his high libido as normal, yet this particular philanderer must go to extraordinary lengths to conceal his affairs from his wife and his political rivals -- and with good reason, since he is the President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Here are Kennedy's affairs with Marilyn Monroe, mob moll Judith Campbell, libertine Mary Meyer, and his flings with numerous White House staff. Each affair propels Kennedy into increasingly murky waters. He fears losing his wife and children to whom he's devoted, and the office to which he's dedicated. Through its study of an important figure, American Adulterer poses controversial questions about society's evolving fixation on the private lives of public officials.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Edition: Airports/Ireland/Export Ed
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Published: 02 Apr 2009

ISBN 10: 0224081551
ISBN 13: 9780224081559
Book Overview: A remarkable, ground-breaking novel that poses controversial questions about society s evolving fixation on the private lives of public officials

Media Reviews
Remarkable new novel about the president... The man's wit, courtesy, peacemaking vision and cool judgement are all here, vividly re-created, as well as courage in the face of near disabling infirmity and pain... gripping and thoughtful. -- Hugo Barnacle, The Sunday Times American Adulterer is a novel of our times: shameless and prurient, detached and salacious. -- Sean O'Hagan, The Observer Compelling... With its glacially elegant prose, Mercurio's narrative keeps its distance from the subject. -- Adrian Turpin, Financial Times
Author Bio
Jed Mercurio's first novel Bodies was chosen as one of the five best debuts of 2002 by the Guardian. His adaptation of Bodies won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series of 2005. While at Medical School, Jed Mercurio received extensive flying training in the Royal Air Force, with the aim of becoming a physician-pilot. He resigned his commission in 1992 and, after beginning a career as a hospital doctor, he became a full-time writer in 1994. His most recent novel is Ascent.