On Sale 8/6/24
A powerful biography of one of the most private first ladies—featuring exclusive access to never-before-published material.
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The personification of the postwar ideal of the self-effacing homemaker, Pat Nixon was an intensely private person, in a painfully public role, at a time when America's role and a woman's role were both subjects of bitter debate. To relive that era of turmoil from the First Lady's anguished vantage point in Heath Lee’s thoroughly researched and elegantly written biography is unexpectedly enthralling. As her husband, Richard Nixon, put it, 'She also ran.
For this reader, Pat Nixon came to life in surprising ways in The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon. She was smarter than people knew, funnier than people expected and stronger than people gave her credit for. She was also a successful diplomat for her husband and contributed to his political success including her advancing of his commitment to civil rights – all documented here for the first time. As Dick later said of Pat, “She deserved so much more.” That she did... and she gets it here.
Everything I thought I knew about Pat Nixon was upended by reading Heath Hardage Lee’s astonishing new biography. Beautiful, steely, and charismatic, Pat Nixon was, in Henry Kissinger’s words, a woman ‘totally without illusions,’ who cloaked her extraordinary ambition in the guise of ‘The Nation’s Ideal Housewife.’ The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon convinced me that the tragedy of Watergate could have been avoided entirely had Dick Nixon followed the path of his remarkable First Lady.
A marvelous biography—a deeply reported, illuminating story of love, ambition, and influence.
Heath Lee reveals a strong, complex, intensely human woman. Mrs. Nixon is a mystery no more
Heath Hardage Lee
About the Author
Heath is an award-winning historian, biographer, curator and lecturer who specializes in women's history. Heath's first book, Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause (Potomac Books/UNP) won the Colonial Dames of America (CDA) Annual Book Award as well as a Gold Medal for Nonfiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Her second book The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam (St. Martin’s Press, 2019) won the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Women in American History Award. The League of Wives was first optioned for a feature film, and it is now being developed into a television series. Heath's museum exhibition entitled The League of Wives: Vietnam POW MIA Advocates & Alliespremiered at the Dole Institute of Politics in May of 2017 and travelled to venues all over the United States through 2023.
Heath's latest book The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: Washington's Most Private First Lady was published in August of 2024 and is the first commercial biography of First Lady Pat Nixon in almost 40 years.The book was longlisted for the Biographer's International Plutarch Award and is a finalist for the Library of Virginia People's Choice Nonfiction award. Heath and her work have been featured on the Today Show, C-Span's "Q and A", and on the Smithsonian Channel's America's Hidden Stories. She also writes about women's history and politics for publications such as Time, The Hill, The Atlantic and White House History Quarterly. She currently serves on the Boards of FLARE the First Ladies Association for Research and Education, and BIO, Biographer's International Organization. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family and her French bulldog (and writing muse) Dolly Parton.
Connect With Heath
Contact Heath
Heath is available for public speaking and lectures. Please inquire about availability.
Please contact Heath directly regarding film rights for her books.
She retains the dramatic rights for all her literary properties.
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