DC-based author Kitty Kelley, known for her usually searing, controversial, and best-selling biographies of the famous and powerful—the royal family, the Bush family, Oprah, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the Kennedys—has cut a deal for her next book, and this time it won’t be about a person. It will be a biography of a place, Georgetown, one of the most storied sections of Washington, and where Kelley lives.
Revealing the news exclusively to Washingtonian, Kelley said that with this as-yet-untitled book she plans to capture the “verve and dynamic of the loveliest 12 square blocks in Washington.” Her publisher is Grand Central (previously Warner Books), which also published her book The Royals. The target publication date will be at least a year after she completes her interviews. She has started on what she anticipates will be the “800 interviews it will take to tell” the story. She says she will give the royalties “back to Georgetown.”
She calls the Georgetown book a “delight” because she is already based “in my favorite place.”
The author recognizes that Georgetown, which is an insular community, could get its feathers ruffled about undergoing the Kitty Kelley treatment, but that’s never been a deterrent in pursuing her subjects. She wants to explore the history of the village and its people, illustrating its story beyond the Kennedys and the “Camelot” era of the 1960s. The onetime riverfront port and Civil War hub is home today to some of DC’s wealthiest and most powerful residents.
Coincidentally, her first blockbuster did touch on Camelot. Jackie Oh!, published in 1978, was a biography of Jacqueline Onassis that examined in particular her life after the White House. Praised and slammed nearly equally by critics, her books often hit the market high up on the best-seller lists.
One of the last big books to focus on the mystique of Georgetown was the late C. David Heymann’s The Georgetown Ladies’ Social Club: Power Passion, and Politics in the Nation’s Capital. It was published in 2004.
Kitty Kelley’s Next Book Won’t Be About a Person, But a Place: Georgetown
She’s already begun interviews for what would be her eighth biography.
DC-based author Kitty Kelley, known for her usually searing, controversial, and best-selling biographies of the famous and powerful—the royal family, the Bush family, Oprah, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the Kennedys—has cut a deal for her next book, and this time it won’t be about a person. It will be a biography of a place, Georgetown, one of the most storied sections of Washington, and where Kelley lives.
Revealing the news exclusively to Washingtonian, Kelley said that with this as-yet-untitled book she plans to capture the “verve and dynamic of the loveliest 12 square blocks in Washington.” Her publisher is Grand Central (previously Warner Books), which also published her book The Royals. The target publication date will be at least a year after she completes her interviews. She has started on what she anticipates will be the “800 interviews it will take to tell” the story. She says she will give the royalties “back to Georgetown.”
She calls the Georgetown book a “delight” because she is already based “in my favorite place.”
The author recognizes that Georgetown, which is an insular community, could get its feathers ruffled about undergoing the Kitty Kelley treatment, but that’s never been a deterrent in pursuing her subjects. She wants to explore the history of the village and its people, illustrating its story beyond the Kennedys and the “Camelot” era of the 1960s. The onetime riverfront port and Civil War hub is home today to some of DC’s wealthiest and most powerful residents.
Coincidentally, her first blockbuster did touch on Camelot. Jackie Oh!, published in 1978, was a biography of Jacqueline Onassis that examined in particular her life after the White House. Praised and slammed nearly equally by critics, her books often hit the market high up on the best-seller lists.
One of the last big books to focus on the mystique of Georgetown was the late C. David Heymann’s The Georgetown Ladies’ Social Club: Power Passion, and Politics in the Nation’s Capital. It was published in 2004.
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This July
The Washington Nationals Just Fired the Manager and GM Who Led Them to a Championship. Why Has the Team Been so Bad Since?
FBI Building Now on Track to Leave DC After All, Whistleblower Leaks Texts Suggesting Justice Department Planned to Blow Off Federal Court Orders, and NPS Cuts Leave Assateague Island Without Lifeguards
Families of DC Air Disaster Victims Criticize Army’s Response, Trump Settles His Scores Via Tariff, and Police Dog Kicked at Dulles Returns to Work
This DC-Area Lawyer Wants More Americans Betting on Elections
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers
Trump Pledges Support for RFK Stadium Plan, Ben’s Chili Bowl Will Strand Us Half-Smokeless for Months, and Pediatricians Are Suing RFK Jr.
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor