Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter (35 page)

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New York School of Fine and Applied Art:
The school is now Parsons The New School for Design in New York City.

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The
Boston Globe
reported:
“Rosemary Kennedy in Baptist Hospital,”
Boston Globe,
April 6, 1938.

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“Rosemary has been in Boston”:
Letter, EM to JPK, March 23, 1938, JPKP, box 144.

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“very well and happy”:
Letter, EM to JPK, April 6, 1938, JPKP, box 144. The details of Rosemary’s ailments have been specifi
cally redacted from the letter by the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation.

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“a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy”:
“Rosemary Kennedy in Baptist Hospital.”

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“they have been so sweet”:
Letter, EM to JPK, April 6, 1938, JPKP, box 144.

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USS
Manhattan,
on April 20:
“Two Kennedy Girls Sail,”
New York Times,
April 21, 1938.

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playing “department store”:
Jerome Beatty, “The Nine Little Kennedys—and How They Grew,”
Woman’s Day,
April 1939, 16.

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Aside from commenting:
“Presentation at Court,” diaries, RFKP, box 1.

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“very rich in pageantry”:
“Presentation at Court,” diaries, RFKP, box 5.

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“lovely days”:
Ibid.

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“not to have one lady bobbing”:
“Presentation at Court,” diaries, RFKP, box 1.

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“knew the type”:
Ibid.

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status-hungry citizens pressuring:
TTR,
196.

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This year it would be:
Ibid., 196–97.

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“Cinderella . . . jewels were added”:
Diaries, “Presentation at Court, RFKP, Box 1.

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“ran into my husband’s room”: TTR,
197–98.

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matching embroidered train:
“The First Court of the Season,”
London Times,
May 12, 1938.

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Eunice would later remember:
EKS, “My Court Presentation,” RFKP, box 129.

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“Victorian posie”:
“First Court of the Season.”

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At 9:30 sharp:
“300 Debutantes Bow at 1st Court, American List Is Reduced to 7,”
New York Times,
European ed., May 12, 1938, diaries, RFKP, box 2.

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The ballroom:
EKS, “My Court Presentation,” RFKP, box 129.

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“Prince Frederick of Prussia”:
Beatty, “Nine Little Kennedys,” 39.

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Rose would later complain:
TTR,
197.

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“Court observers noticed”:
“300 Debutantes Bow at 1st Court”;
“Seven Americans Presented to King,”
New York Times,
May 12, 1938. See also Ibid., 196–99.

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“severe gowns of white”:
Unidentified newspaper clipping, June 2, 1938, diaries, RFKP, box 1.

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“about six midshipmen”:
KK, diary, 1938–1939, RFKP, box 128.

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Though invitations for both:
Invitation, Ambassador of the U.S.S.R. to Rosemary and Kathleen Kennedy, March 1, 1939, RFKP, box 128; and “Presentation at Court,” diaries, RFKP, box 1.

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“Almost go mad”:
“Diary Notes on Rosemary Kennedy,” August 17, 1938, RFKP, box 1.

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“The Ambassador to the Court of St. James”:
Maria Riva,
Marlene Dietrich
(New York: Knopf, 1992), 469.

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Kick had “assumed the role”
and following: Ibid., 469–70.

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During the latter part:
Assorted correspondence, August–September 1938, RFKP, box 13.

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“plenty of attention”:
Letter, EKS to JPK and RFK, n.d. (August 1938), RFKP, box 13.

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“When Joe phoned”:
Diary notes, September 13, 1938, RFKP, box 1.

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“I had to settle”:
“Presentation at Court,” diaries, RFKP, box 12.

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“on the verge”:
Convent of the Sacred Heart Finishing School for Girls,
school pamphlet, 1938, JPKP, box 26.

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help “a bit with my duties”:
“Presentation at Court,” diaries, RFKP, box 1. See also
TTR,
185–86.

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Courses in literature:
Convent of the Sacred Heart Finishing School for Girls,
school pamphlet.

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“remarkable progress”:
Letter, Mother Isabel Eugenie to JPK, April 3, 1939, RFKP, box 13.

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“American government apply”:
DN, 364.

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“collapse of the British Empire”:
JPK, quoted in ibid., 368.

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Rosemary and her siblings:
“St. Moritz Data,” JPKP, box 137.

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“Everything is so beautiful”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, December 26, 1938, JPKP, box 2.

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“Album for Dr. Montessori”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, February 27, 1939, JPKP, box 2.

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Mother Isabel had been trained:
“Sr. Isabel Eugenie, Educator, Writer,”
Philadelphia Inquirer,
May 17, 1983.

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Through this method:
See American Montessori Society,
http://www.amshq.org/
; Montessori Foundation,
http://www.montessori.org/
; Maria Montessori,
The Montessori Method: Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in “The Children’s Houses,”
trans. Anne E. George (New York: Stokes, 1912); Sheila Radice,
The New Children: Talks with Maria Montessori
(New York: Stokes, 1920); and Josephine Tozier, “The Montessori Schools in Rome: The Revolutionary Educational Work of Maria Montessori as Carried Out in Her Own Schools,”
McClure’s
38, no. 2 (December 1911): 123–37. Maria Montessori was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize (in 1949, 1950, and 1951).

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“The first idea”:
Tozier, “The Montessori Schools in Rome,” 128.

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“diploma for being a child of Mary”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, February 27, 1939, JPKP, box 2.

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“This diet of Elizabeth Arden”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, February 27, 1939, JPKP, box 2.

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The Kennedys were seated
and following: LL,
The Kennedy Women,
273. See also DN, 374–75.

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Mother Isabel had personally seen:
Interview by the author with the Assumption Sisters in Worcester, Mass., December 13, 2014.

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“leg show”:
Letter, JPK to Arthur Houghton, August 29, 1939, quoted in DN, 397.

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“little brassiere[s]”:
Diary, June 13, 1939, RFKP, box 2.

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Belmont House:
The estate is now a golf club.

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“toasted Belmont”:
Letter, Dorothy Gibbs to JPK, September 13, 1939, RFKP, box 13.

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“marked improvement”:
Letter, Dorothy Gibbs to EM, October 10, 1939, as quoted in DKG, 594.

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“to fight incendiary bombs”:
Letter, Mother Isabel Eugenie to JPK, September 23, 1939, JPKP, box 26.

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“she was going to be the one”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, September 18, 1939, in
Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy,
ed. Amanda Smith (New York: Penguin, 2001), 379–80.

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Joe also arranged:
Letter, JPK to RFK, September 18, 1939, in Smith,
Hostage to Fortune,
379.

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“No one could watch”:
EKS, quoted in “The Tragic Story of . . . the Daughter JFK’s Mother Had to Give Up,”
National Enquirer,
November 5, 1967.

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“empty head”:
Edward Shorter,
The Kennedy Family and the Story of Mental Retardation
(Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984), 31–33. This quote was found in a draft of an article, ghostwritten for Eunice Kennedy Shriver for the
Saturday Evening Post
in 1962, called “Out of the Shadows.” Some of these more personal reminiscences were deleted from the final published article.

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“looked out for her”:
Edward M. Kennedy,
True Compass
(New York: Twelve, 2009), 26.

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Joe wrote that Mary Moore:
Letter, JPK to RFK, October 11, 1939, in Smith,
Hostage to Fortune,
515.

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“Please God”:
Letter, Dorothy Gibbs to JPK, September 13, 1939, RFKP, box 13.

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“a magical key”:
Eileen Foley, “Montessori Revival: A Magical Key to Learning—or Not?,”
Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin,
February 21, 1965.

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Noted for her selfless devotion:
Essay on Mother Isabel, written for inclusion in the Spring 1983 issue of the
Ottawa Montessori School Newsletter,
Sister Isabel Eugenie File, courtesy the Religious of the Assumption, Worcester, Mass.

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“She [Rosemary] is contented”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, October 11, 1939, in Smith,
Hostage to Fortune,
394.

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“She loves being the boss here”:
Ibid.

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“I don’t see any point”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, October 23, 1939, in DN, 422, from Nasaw’s personal collection.

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“Now as to Rosie”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, November 13, 1939, in DN, 426, from Nasaw’s personal collection.

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“welcomed . 
.
 . with joy”
: Letter, Mother Isabel Eugenie to RFK, December 20, 1939, JPKP, box 26.

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“She has some supervision”:
Ibid.

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“She thinks of you”
and following: Ibid.

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he scheduled a few days:
DN, 432.

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Roosevelt was tiring of Kennedy:
Ibid., 433.

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“Rose[mary] met me”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, March 14, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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“I had a talk”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, March 20, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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“Darling Daddy”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, (March–April, 1940), JPKP, box 26, in Smith,
Hostage to Fortune,
412.

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“Her disposition is great”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, April 26, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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“I am so fond of you”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, April 4, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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“I was more than pleased”:
Letter, JPK to Dorothy Gibbs, April 23, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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“You must have made”:
Letter, Dorothy Gibbs to JPK, April 24, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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“Everybody thinks”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, April 25, 1940, RFKP, box 2.

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“get Rose and the Moores out”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, May 20, 1940, in Smith,
Hostage to Fortune,
432.

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“Everybody here is so sorry”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, April 13, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

6. WAR ON THE KENNEDY HOME FRONT

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German U-boat attacks:
“G-Men Search Ship Sailing to Save Americans,”
Chicago Daily Tribune,
May 25, 1940.

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Their flight out of Portugal:
“Clipper’s Mail Removed Again,”
Palm Beach Post,
June 1, 1940; “Envoy’s Daughter Home on Clipper,”
New York Times,
June 2, 1940; “Clipper, 21 on Board, Puts In at Bermuda,”
New York Times,
June 1, 1940.

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“forgetting our trip back”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, June 4, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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“but once this has happened”:
Letter, JPK to RFK, June 7, 1940, JPKP, box 2.

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“Rosie” was returning home:
Letter, Jean Kennedy Smith to JPK, May 28, 1940, quoted in
TTR,
226.

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She missed her British friends:
See letters, RMK to JPK, June 4, 1940; Dorothy Gibbs to JPK, June 8, 1940; Mother Teresa to JPK, June [?], 1940; JPK to Mother Teresa, June 18, 1940; JPK to Reverend Mother Isabel, July 10, 1940; JPK to RMK, August 8, 1940; JPK to Patsy Cunningham, August 31, 1940; and JPK to RMK, September 10, 1940, all in RFKP, box 13.

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the
“Saks man”:
Letter, RMK to JPK, June 4, 1940, RFKP, box 13.

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Eunice complained:
Letter, EKS to JPK, June 1940, in
TTR,
227.

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Since Rosemary could not handle:
EKS, interview by Robert Coughlan, February 26, 1972, RFKP, box 10.

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Her youngest sister, Jean:
Letters, Jean Kennedy to JPK, June 24, 1940, in
TTR,
228; and RFK to JPK, June 24, 1940, in
Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy,
ed. Amanda Smith (New York: Penguin, 2001)
,
446–47.

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athletic games and competition:
TTR,
226–32.

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Kick was preoccupied:
Lynne McTaggart,
Kathleen Kennedy, Her Life and Times
(New York: Dial Press, 1983), 82–83.

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the children were “especially kind”:
Luella Hennessey Donovan, “My Happy Life with the Kennedy Babies,”
Good Housekeeping,
August 1961.

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“From her childhood”:
TTR,
246.

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an “enchanting child”:
DKG, 362; and ibid.

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“Never was there a girl”:
“Kathleen Kennedy,” diary notebooks, RFKP, box 13.

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“Jack would . . . take her”:
EKS, interview by Robert Coughlan, February 26, 1972, RFKP, box 10.

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“Why don’t other boys”:
Rose Kennedy, “Rosemary Brought Us Strength,”
Catholic Digest,
March 1976, 36–37.