 Gore and Nina Vidal |  "Whistler's Mother" Postage Stamp, 1934 |
Jay Parini: If you could change anything about your life, what would it be?
Gore Vidal: My mother!
Jay Parini: Whose mother do you want?
Gore Vidal: I’ll take Whistler’s. I’ll take anybody else’s.
--Gore Vidal, via Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Gore Vidal: My mother!
Jay Parini: Whose mother do you want?
Gore Vidal: I’ll take Whistler’s. I’ll take anybody else’s.
--Gore Vidal, via Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Nina Vidal Auchincloss Olds, an alcoholic, was no one's idea of a perfect mother. She came with baggage (albeit Louis Vuitton).
After Nina's marriage to Gore's father ended, she married Hugh D. Auchincloss. It was through Auchincloss that Gore became stepbrother (once removed) to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a connection that gave him entree to Camelot and that he would dine out on for the remainder of his life.
Just as importantly, Nina's frequent absences meant Gore was practically raised by her book-loving parents, U.S. Senator Thomas and Nina Belle Gore, whom Gore recalls with great affection in his memoir, Palimpsest. He spent much his childhood among the books in their well-stocked library, and in the end, a good library triumphed over a negligent mother.
After Nina's marriage to Gore's father ended, she married Hugh D. Auchincloss. It was through Auchincloss that Gore became stepbrother (once removed) to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a connection that gave him entree to Camelot and that he would dine out on for the remainder of his life.
Just as importantly, Nina's frequent absences meant Gore was practically raised by her book-loving parents, U.S. Senator Thomas and Nina Belle Gore, whom Gore recalls with great affection in his memoir, Palimpsest. He spent much his childhood among the books in their well-stocked library, and in the end, a good library triumphed over a negligent mother.
 Newly Elected President John F. Kennedy, Backstage with Gore Vidal at the Opening of Gore's Play, "The Best Man" |  A Signed Photo of Jacqueline Kennedy on Prominent Display at Gore Vidal's Italian Villa, "La Rondinaia" |
Image Credit: Snapshots in History's Glare
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