Kingmaker Pamela Harriman's astonishing life of power, seduction, and intrigue

Harriman's motto could very well have been, Go ahead, underestimate me. That'll be fun. The daughter of a wealthy baron, Harriman was mocked as a child for being overweight and received only enough education to land a suitable husband. Her marriage to Randolph Churchill, son of Winston, was a match made in hell, but it provided Harriman with the pedigree to interact with the most prominent men in the world. Her unofficial role as chief counsel to her father-in-law during WWII put her in the room where it was all happening. Sexually uninhibited, Harriman was dismissed as a courtesan. But she was wily about the ways of power and politics, and her relationships with everyone from generals to journalists helped her broker some of the most consequential outcomes of the war. Following her eventual marriage to business titan and statesman Averell Harriman, she gained even more influence in American politics. So crucial were her contacts, so effective were her seductive tactics of persuasion that Harriman was officially rewarded for her impact when President Clinton appointed her ambassador to France. Purnell (A Woman of No Importance, 2019) presents a compulsively readable, multifaceted portrait of an oft-misunderstood woman whose role in twentieth-century geopolitics has, until now, been severely underappreciated.

Grit and glamour. British journalist Purnell, award-winning biographer of Clementine Churchill, turns her attention to Churchill's cherished daughter-in-law, Pamela Harriman (1920-97), somewhat condescendingly called, "the most powerful courtesan in history." Drawing on newly released material, including an extensive interview conducted by a previous biographer, Purnell creates a vibrant portrait of an influential political player in her native England and her adopted America. At 19, two weeks after her first date with Randolph Churchill, the couple were engaged, much to the dismay of her friends and parents. "Wherever Randolph went, scandal ensued," Purnell reports, and Pamela soon realized she had married "a drunken, offensive adulterer." At an emotional breaking point, overwhelmed by Randolph's mounting debts, she turned to Lord Beaverbrook, her son's godfather, for financial help. He agreed, provided she work for him in procuring information about America's plans for intervention in the raging European war. Pamela proved a star player in Operation Seduction USA; her conquests included Roosevelt's emissary Averell Harriman and broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. Purnell recounts Pamela's "strategic" sex life, which included affairs with Prince Aly Khan and Fiat mogul Gianni Agnelli. Later, marriage to Hollywood agent Leland Hayward gave her access to a new circle of celebrities, but it was politics that compelled her. Within a year of Hayward's death, she reconnected with Harriman, married him, and became an American citizen. In Washington, Purnell reveals, she cast her spell, as she always had, over influential and wealthy men, working tirelessly and strategically for Democratic candidates, successful in getting many of them elected. In 1980, she was named Democratic Woman of the Year--an accolade typically bestowed on first ladies. In 1993, appointed by her friend Bill Clinton, she became the first female envoy to France, the pinnacle of a storied career. Meticulous research informs a captivating biography. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.