Sumter County Museum presents bestselling author of historical novels

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The Sumter County Museum continues its series of appearances by New York Times bestselling authors on Monday with a reception, talk and book signing by Michelle Gable. Like Gable's "An Apartment in Paris," her latest novel is based on actual persons, John F. Kennedy and Alicia Corning Clark. The 6:30 p.m. event at the museum is free to the public.

Gable's "The Summer I Met Jack" was inspired by the author's extensive research on Alicia Corning Clark - Darr in the book - and the alleged affair that may have resulted in a child. Darr was a Polish immigrant who grew up during World War II. In Gable's book, she arrives at the Kennedys' Hyannisport, Massachusetts, home to work as a maid for the family.

She and Jack fall in love, but their marriage is forbidden by Kennedy patriarch Joseph Kennedy.

Darr leaves Hyannisport for Hollywood, where she pursues a career in acting and dates numerous prominent actors and athletes, including Gary Cooper and Kirk Douglas.

Publishers Weekly reviewed "The Summer I Met Jack," concluding that "while JFK is a perennially fascinating figure, this is Alicia's story: a splendid portrait of a spirited survivor thriving in a man's world, even as memories of Jack, her only true love, linger. This bittersweet tale will enthrall readers."

Books will be available for purchase and signing by author Michelle Gable at her 6:30 p.m. Monday talk at the Sumter County Museum, 122 N. Washington St.

For more information, call the museum at (803) 775-0908. For more on Gable and her previous historic novels, visit her website, https://michellegable.com.