Mrs. Kennedy Goes Abroad
 Jacqueline Duhêne
 (Reviewer - Dr. Alma Bond)
 1998 Artisan/Workman Publishing Co.
  ISBN: 1579651232

With a charming introduction written by John Kenneth Galbraith, the American Ambassador to India at that time (1961-1962). 64 pages of paintings of the First Lady's goodwill travels.

Associate Reviewer Dr. Alma Bond writes:

Mrs. Kennedy Goes Abroad, with paintings by Jacqueline Duhêne & text by Vibhuti Patel, is a delightful picture book which is a joy to read & a pleasure to look at, a shining example of the old proverb that “Good things come in small packages.”

Ms. Duhêne is a painter who came to know Jackie on an earlier trip to Paris. She liked the artist's paintings so much that the two women became friends, & Duhêne was invited to accompany the First Lady on her goodwill tours abroad. Duhêne followed Mrs. Kennedy & her sister, Princess Lee Radziwell, on their travels to Paris, Rome, India, Pakistan, London, & even Washington, D.C., & the result is this lovely little book.

The paintings are colorful, clever, & imaginative, with a decidedly Indian ambiance. The originals were given to Caroline as a gift, & I would be surprised if they still do not adorn her walls.

In one of my favorites, Jackie is flying away on a magic carpet with an elephant & two baby lions (?), while down below on the White House Lawn, President Kennedy, Caroline & John-John, along with two dogs, are frantically waving goodbye.

The photographs accompanying the text are excellent, too, & bring back the youthful, vibrant, exquisite Jackie we all loved. They show a radiant First Lady, who summed up the trip as “The most magic two weeks of my life...I never had such a marvelous time (p. 58).” & indeed, why not?

Wined & dined by the aristocracy of Europe, including Prime Minister Nehru, Queen Elizabeth, Indira Gandhi, General & Mme. De Gaulle, & Pope John XXIII, Jackie was hailed by hundreds & thousands of people all over Europe. It is said that she attracted the largest crowd of any visitor in history, far more than Queen Elizabeth II.

It seems Jackie took it all in stride, as if she were born to the crown. Landing in London after a 13-hour flight from Karachi, she “danced down from the airplane to smile at the crowd and greet her two and a half- year-old nephew (p. 54).“ She told reporters, “I am very tired. I won't be going out at all in London except to have lunch with the Queen.”

Mrs. Kennedy & General de Gaulle were very taken with each other, & spent much time together. Sitting in a box at the ballet, the General & the First Lady moved their chairs to the back of the box & chatted away during the performance. The de Gaulles gave an elegant formal banquet for the Kennedys. Time magazine said that the de Gaulles looked like “the parents of the bride” in a receiving line next to the Kennedys, where they greeted 1000 Parisian dignitaries. By midnight, her white glove was stained from shaking so many hands. The two presidents' wives, different as they were in age, appearance, & background, found an area of compatibility in their mutual love of children. They visited an infant-care center together, where Jackie was welcomed by a huge applauding crowd. Mrs. Kennedy always carried treats for children when she traveled. A sweet painting shows her giving a lollipop to a baby.

In New Delhi, Jackie was given a baby elephant named Urvashi by Prime Minister Nehru, which she proceeded to feed from a bottle. Apparently Urvashi didn't share the awe in which our First Lady was held by the rest of the world, & spilled her milk on the skirt of the meticulous, fashion-conscious Mrs. Kennedy. Mme. Gandhi began to chastise the animal for her poor table manners, but Jackie, who always said the right thing, stopped her, with “Oh no. She's being very good.”

Although the book is lovely, & the paintings delightful, there is a curious, childlike quality about them. My major criticism is that the figures painted by Duhêne to represent the President & Mrs. Kennedy don't look like them at all. In one painting of Jackie & her sister, it is difficult to tell which is which. But this is a minor failing, in a book of many lovely & authentic paintings.

Mrs. Kennedy Goes Abroad can be read with pleasure at one sitting. It is recommended for the vast number of Jacqueline Kennedy lovers who miss her & would like to keep her memory alive. I for one, was sorry to have it come to an end.

More illustrated books by Jacqueline Duhêne: L'oiseau philosophie; Zazie dans le metro; The Talking Machine.
(04/07/02)

Dr. Alma Bond
2002©Alma Bond
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

A RebeccasReads author featured in Authors & Books

Reviewer's Bio:
Dr. Alma Halbert Bond is the author of ten published books, including:
The Deadly Jigsaw Puzzle;
The Tree That Could Fly;
Tales Of Psychology (2004);
I Married Dr. Jekyll And Woke Up Mrs. Hyde (2000);
The Autobiography Of Maria Callas, A Novel (1998);
On Becoming A Grandparent: A Diary of Family Discovery (1994);
Who Killed Virginia Woolf? A Psychobiography (1998);
Profiles of Key West (1996).

She recently recorded her new manuscript, Old Age Is A Terminal Illness, as an audio book.

She is also the author of a just published children's picture book called The Tree That Could Fly.

Dr. Bond teaches Psychology & Writing online at WriterSchool.