Grace

Grace: The Secret Lives of a Princess is James Spada’s book on Grace Kelly, first published in 1987, with a Dell edition dated 1989 in the Open Library record. Open Library names Spada and Kelly together as authors, while the Google Books record for the 2014 reissue names Spada alone. The catalog facts class the book as a memoir, but its Open Library subject headings include Biography, and the publisher’s description of the reissue calls it a biography. That description also reports that it was a New York Times bestseller and a bestseller in 6 countries.

Among other books about Kelly, five came earlier: Marjorie P. K. Weiser’s Grace Kelly (1970), Gwen Robyns’s Princess Grace (1976), Phyllida Hart-Davis’s Grace, the Story of a Princess (1982), and Steven Englund’s Grace of Monaco and Sarah Bradford’s Princess Grace (both 1984). Ten came later, from Jeffrey Robinson’s Rainier & Grace and Judy Quine’s The Bridesmaids (both 1989) to Jennifer O’Callaghan’s Rear Window (2025). All 15 are classed as biographies, and none lists Kelly as an author. Two of the later books share the short title: Howell Conant’s Grace (1992) and Robert Lacey’s Grace (1994).

For fans

What the publisher’s description says

The publisher’s description of the 2014 reissue covers Kelly’s film career and her marriage. It credits her with eleven films across six years in Hollywood, and with the Oscar for Best Actress for The Country Girl. It names Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, William Holden and Ray Milland as stars whose “amorous attentions” she won. It then records her marriage at 26 to the Prince of Monaco. The description names “It Takes a Thief” among her films, while Wikipedia’s article on Kelly gives the Hitchcock title as To Catch a Thief (1955).

The reviewers, as the publisher quotes them

The same description prints the review lines, without dates. The Chicago Tribune is quoted as saying that Spada presents “a living, breathing Grace Kelly” and that her life surpassed “every male fantasy.” Variety is quoted as calling it “a compassionate, well-balanced account” and “a fine biography of a complicated woman.” Kirkus Reviews is quoted with “sexy, gripping” and “a well-crafted, rich read,” and with the prediction that the book would be “in demand.” London Today is quoted with “fascinating,” and with the claim that its cast of characters outdid anything Jackie Collins or Judith Krantz could invent.

Titles and editions

The Google Books record dates the reissue 27 Aug 2014, gives it 414 pages, and titles it Grace Kelly: The Secret Life of a Princess. The description says this edition was revised and updated, is illustrated, and appears in electronic form with interactive source notes, and it notes the earlier title, Grace. The Open Library subject headings include Large type books. Wikipedia’s bibliography for Kelly lists Lacey, Leigh and Spoto, and does not list Spada. Neither the Open Library record nor the publisher’s description sets out the book’s chapters.