Reflected Glory

The Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman

She first entered the public eye when she married Winston Churchill’s son. She had affairs with a long line of wealthy and powerful men, including Jock Whitney, Prince Aly Khan, Gianni Agnelli, Elie de Rothschild, and Stavros Niarchos. She found legitimacy as the wife of Broadway producer Leland Hayward, and she inherited a fortune from her third husband, diplomat Averell Harriman. She was Pamela Churchill Harriman, a woman who always managed to be where the action was.

In this extensively researched biography, based on interviews with 400 sources, and featuring a complete account of Harriman’s death and will, premier biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells the explosive true story of the woman behind the public facade. From her early years as a British debutante to her last days as the U.S. Ambassador to France, Harrriman dealt with more powerful figures than anyone else in the twentieth century. In the process, she achieved her own fame in their reflected glory.

“Over five years and 400 interviews, the author has left no stone unturned…The portrait is finely balanced, and the fullest we are likely to get.”
The New York Times Book Review

“A treasure trove of scrupulous reporting, delicious details and elegant writing, presenting the fullest portrait of Harriman to date.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer