Description
Book SynopsisThe love triangle of Aristotle Onassis, Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy was as volcanic as the eruption of Stromboli that staggered Aristotle and Maria at the beginning of their romance. Had they lived in the sixteenth century, Shakespeare would have written a play about them — it was too good a story to miss. Two myths have persisted in the decades since their marriage. The first is that Onassis was a rich but likeable rogue who avoided taxes but was otherwise, at heart, a decent and generous man. The second is that Jackie Onassis was a shameless gold-digger and spendthrift, motivated by little other than greed and personal ambition.
The truth was very different. Onassis was a vicious, drunken bully who beat his wives and mistresses until they were bloody and forced them to have abortions. When he tired of them, he smeared them in the media, tapped their phones and publicly humiliated them. His business empire was built largely on bribery, corruption and contempt for the law. He signed contracts in disappearing ink, reviled any politician who could not be bought, did business with dictators, and habitually lied. His children were so frightened in his presence that they peed themselves. His brutal treatment of his mistress, Maria Callas, led her to a suicide attempt and the abortion of her only child. Her early death at the age of only fifty-three was — in part — caused by the unhappiness that he inflicted on her.
Table of ContentsCHAPTER 1 Jackie, How Could You?
CHAPTER 2 The Burning of Smyrna
CHAPTER 3 A Bad Omen
CHAPTER 4 A Country of Opportunity
CHAPTER 5 Pater Familias
CHAPTER 6 A Look of Destiny
CHAPTER 7 A Shipboard Romance
CHAPTER 8 A Marriage of Convenience
CHAPTER 9 Richer than Croesus
CHAPTER 10 A Turn of Providence
CHAPTER 11 A Man with a Compulsion
CHAPTER 12 Dukes, Princes and Kings
CHAPTER 13 Omertà
CHAPTER 14 A Formidable Clan
CHAPTER 15 The Baroness Who Would Not Be Bought
CHAPTER 16 A Son Is Lost
CHAPTER 17 The Aftermath
Postscript
References
Bibliography
Index
