Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot

The president and first lady attend the National Gallery of Art for a rare viewing of the Mona Lisa. Jackie organized the event and arranged for the famous painting to be brought to America. The Secret Service guards the painting. In the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the president and first lady have never felt closer to one another, nor has their public approval ever been higher. The president does have powerful enemies, but Jackie regards the White House as a kind of mythical Camelot, “an oasis of idyllic happiness in a cold, hard world” (142). On this night, Jackie outshines even the Mona Lisa.

Lee Harvey Oswald is back with Marina, but their relationship remains tempestuous.

Vice President Lyndon Johnson prepares to position himself as the Democratic Party’s leading pro–civil rights candidate, outflanking his rival Bobby Kennedy, who also faces other challenges.

Seven months earlier, on August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home. Although Monroe’s death was ruled an overdose, there are rumors that the Mafia might have murdered her, or that Bobby Kennedy, fearing the political fallout from Monroe’s obsession with his brother and possible revelation of their affair, was somehow involved.