A Celebration of Books,
Writers & LIterary Excellence

Save the Date


Gaithersburg
Book Festival

May 18, 2024

10am – 6pm

Bohrer Park


Louis Bayard

Latest Title: Jackie & Me
Jackie & Me
Jackie & Me by Louis Bayard

This “absolutely irresistible” historical romance imagines the courtship between Jacqueline Bouvier and the future American president she loved (People).​

In 1951, former debutante Jacqueline Bouvier is hard at work as the Inquiring Camera Girl for a Washington newspaper. Her mission in life is “not to be a housewife,” but when she meets the charismatic congressman Jack Kennedy at a Georgetown party, her resolution begins to falter. Soon the two are flirting over secret phone calls, cocktails, and dinner dates, and as Jackie is drawn deeper into the Kennedy orbit, and as Jack himself grows increasingly elusive and absent, she begins to question what life at his side would mean. For answers, she turns to his best friend and confidant, Lem Billings, a closeted gay man who has made the Kennedy family his own, and who has been instructed by them to seal the deal with Jack’s new girl. But as he gets to know her, a deep and touching friendship emerges, leaving him with painfully divided alliances and a troubling dilemma: Is this the marriage she deserves?

Narrated by an older Lem as he looks back at his own role in a complicated alliance, this is a courtship story full of longing and of suspense, of what-ifs and possible wrong turns. It is a surprising look at Jackie before she was that Jackie. And in best-selling author Louis Bayard’s witty and deeply empathetic telling, Jackie & Me is a page-turning story of friendship, love, sacrifice, and betrayal— and a fresh take on two iconic American figures.

About Louis Bayard

In the words of The New York Times, Louis Bayard “reinvigorates historical fiction,” rendering the past “as if he’d witnessed it firsthand.” His acclaimed novels include “The Pale Blue Eye,” adapted into the global #1 Netflix release starring Christian Bale; “Jackie & Me,” ranked by The Washington Post as one of the top novels of 2022; the national best-seller “Courting Mr. Lincoln;” “Roosevelt’s Beast;” “The School of Night;” “The Black Tower” and “Mr. Timothy,” as well as the highly praised young-adult novel, “Lucky Strikes.” A New York Times Notable author, Louis has been nominated for both the Edgar and Dagger awards, and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

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Twitter: @LouisBayard

Author Schedule:

Venue(s):

Gertrude Stein Pavilion

Presentation Start Time:

12:15 pm

Presentation End Time:

1:05 pm

Signing Time:

1:15 pm

Presentation Authors:

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