TEN FIRST LADIES OF THE WORLD

by Pauline Frederick ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1967

It's touch and go being a First Lady when you consider it--one absent minded swig from your finger bowl at a state banquet and you, and the old man with you, are back in the ranks....But, this author sees neither the humor nor the horror potential in the role and presents ten pallid, apolitical devotees of husband, hearth, home and national hostessing. Indira Ghandi might have been an exception, but she's unexceptionally chronicled here and dismissed at the point she became Prime Minister, when her career really got going. Madam Tito could have been interesting, but the sketch is based on magazine interviews that date back twenty years. Imelda Marcos of the Philippines was once a beauty queen and it's been bruited abroad that she posed for nudie films, which she denies indignantly (and the author seems convinced and not at all amused). How or why Fathia Nkrumah is included does beat all, unless she is to be considered a First Lady in Waiting. Mrs. Nasser gets done up in a vaguely movie mag ""this is how it must have been"" piece and then there's Mrs. U Thant, a devout semi-invalid Buddhist who doesn't go out much but runs a tight Buddhist household. Mrs. Harold Wilson is a homebody and so is Mrs. Franco and Madam De Gaulle. And Lady Bird. Documentation via popular magazines and suspect press releases.

Pub Date: May 1, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Meredith

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION