A treasure trove of Jackie Kennedy's secrets has been discovered
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
A treasure trove of letters Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to an Irish priest before and after she was first lady have been discovered by an auction house in Ireland. The letters, which span nearly 15 years, include revelations about her political ambitions, her worries that her husband John F. Kennedy was womanizing, and how his assassination made her "bitter against God."
Between 1950 and 1964, Kennedy wrote 30 letters to Father Joseph Leonard, a Vincentian priest who lived in Dublin and whom she only met twice. "It's so good in a way to write all this down and get it off your chest — because I never do really talk it with anyone," she said to him. In a letter following the assassination of her husband, she said: "I have to think there is a God — or I have no hope of finding Jack again," adding, "God will have a bit of explaining to do to me if I ever see Him."
The letters, described by the auction house as "the dream find of a lifetime," are expected to fetch more than $1.5 million next month. Read more details about them at The Irish Times.
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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