The Summer I Met Jack - Softcover

Praise for The Book of Summer "A sure bet for women's-fiction fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Nantucket novels." --Booklist "Gable cleverly illuminates the past, revealing how it mirrors the present. This is a splendid multigenerational novel about the strength of the women of Cliff House." --Publishers Weekly "Gable develops fully rounded characters that readers feel as if they could reach out and touch. We want to know more about them and Gable gives us plenty." --Richmond Times-Dispatch "These laid-back books epitomize the term 'beach read.'" --Coastal Living "A must for any summer reading list." --The Boston Herald "This time of year is meant for books to devour. Vacations, the beach, lazy afternoons all call for a good book that allows you to escape. Michelle Gable knows how to deliver." --Newport News Daily Press "It's Gable's ability to weave a family's tale through the musings of summer visitors, war, relationship drama and a smattering of sexual tension that makes it a must for any summer reading list." --Fort Worth Star- Telegram "A deep look at the strength of women, this will tantalize readers as they, along with Bess, learn of her family." --Parkersburg News + Sentinel

Based on a real story - in 1950, a young, beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, Massachusetts to work as a maid for one of the wealthiest families in America. Alicia is at once dazzled by the large and charismatic family, in particular the oldest son, a rising politician named Jack. Alicia and Jack are soon engaged, but his domineering father forbids the marriage. And so, Alicia trades Hyannisport for Hollywood, and eventually Rome. She dates famous actors and athletes and royalty, including Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, and Katharine Hepburn, all the while staying close with Jack. A decade after they meet, on the eve of Jack's inauguration as the thirty-fifth President of the United States, the two must confront what they mean to each other. The Summer I Met Jack is based on the fascinating real life of Alicia Corning Clark, a woman who J. Edgar Hoover insisted was paid by the Kennedys to keep quiet, not only about her romance with Jack Kennedy, but also a baby they may have had together.