• Once upon a Time

  • The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
  • By: Elizabeth Beller
  • Narrated by: Emily Tremaine
  • Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (32 ratings)

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Once upon a Time  By  cover art

Once upon a Time

By: Elizabeth Beller
Narrated by: Emily Tremaine
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Publisher's summary

The life and legacy of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy Jr., are reexamined in this captivating and effervescent biography that is perfect for fans of My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy, What Remains, and Fairy Tale Interrupted.

A quarter of a century after the plane crash that claimed the lives of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn, and her sister Lauren, the magnitude of this tragedy remains fresh. Yet, Carolyn is still an enigmatic figure, a woman whose short life in the spotlight was besieged with misogyny and cruelty.

Amidst today’s cultural reckoning about the way our media treats women, Elizabeth Beller explores the real person behind the tabloid headlines and media frenzy. When she began dating America’s prince, Carolyn was increasingly thrust into an overwhelming spotlight filled with relentless paparazzi who reacted to her reserve with a campaign of harassment and vilification.

To this day, she is still depicted as a privileged princess—icy, vapid, and drug-addicted. She has even been accused of being responsible for their untimely death, allegedly delaying take-off until she finished her pedicure. But now, she is revealed as never before.

A fiercely independent woman devoted to her adopted city and career, Carolyn relied on her impeccable eye and drive to fly up the ranks at Calvin Klein in the glossy, high-stakes fashion world of the 1990s. When Carolyn met her future husband, John was immediately drawn to her strong-willed personality, effortless charm, and high intelligence. Their relationship would change her life and catapult her to dizzying fame, but it was her vibrant life before their marriage and then hidden afterwards, that is truly fascinating.

Based on in-depth research and exclusive interviews with friends, family members, teachers, roommates, and colleagues, this comprehensive biography reveals a multi-faceted woman worthy of our attention regardless of her husband and untimely death.

©2024 Elizabeth Beller (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

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What listeners say about Once upon a Time

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected.

Incorrect pronunciation of names was annoying and made me wonder how in depth this was researched.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Exaggeratingly Fawning

The author incessantly wrote about how “stunningly beautiful” Carolyn was. How strangers stared in awe (insert eye roll), how she had to have early curfew due to her gorgeousness, etc etc etc.
She was attractive, but often appeared downright homely and strange looking. This unnecessary focus on her arguable astounding physical beauty distracts from the fact that her confidence, generosity and charisma were enough to draw others in and make an impact.
The book is unnecessarily overly complimentary because there are many stories and experiences that people have had with her that refute this saintly portrayal. An honest depiction of herand all her human flaws would have made a more authentic read.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story. Performance is grating

Story is good. A bit too hard an attempt to make her Saint Caroline by friends but a lot of information that was previously unknown.

Narrators voice is incredibly grating though. Really hard to continue so I stopped and bought the hard copy

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

I liked this book very much. I was young when she passed + didn’t know much about her, it was nice to have context for her outside of JFK Jr.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I didn't want it to end

very humanizing take on a mysterious loving kind woman who was portrayed negatively because she married America's prince.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

This book deserves a re-recording

The narrator's incorrect and inconsistent pronunciation deters from this clip job of a book. Presumably multiple people heard the narrator pronounce Jackie's famed maiden name, Bouvier, as "BOO-vwar" throughout and didn't think to correct it? A cursory familiarity with the Kennedy family would have been an asset here, ensuring that words like Hyannis Port and Terenzio were not bungled, repeatedly.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Waste of time, didn’t even finish it.

Hated it, nothing but saying over and over that she was pretty and no information that everyone doesn’t already know.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible read

Terrible book..too sugary sweet
Made it seem like Carolyn was too good to be true and could do no wrong

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

one sided biography

The author is obsessed with her subject matter and because of that paints a too-perfect picture of Carolyn. Many of her flaws are justified. Like how Carolyn threw herself at the boyfriends of close friends and coworkers just to see if she could “get them” The author excuses her behavior, claiming she’s actually a sweet, compassionate, empathetic soul whose parents’ divorce caused this continuous lapse in judgment. Good narration of a one dimensional life story.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

Seemed to be writen by a third grader... Lists of this and that, but no meat.... Opportunistic

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1 person found this helpful