The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty

by Susan Page

America. (Her husband was not a fan of the group. In a letter to a friend, Marvin described the Garden Club as “an association of the snottiest outfits engaged in that sort of work.”) Local newspaper gossip columns faithfully recorded the teas, luncheons, dinners, and debutante parties she hosted or attended at their club, the Apawamis—a nice club, to be sure, but not the most elite. She fretted about her family’s social standing and spent more money than they had to spare. Even those who loved her acknowledged she had little apparent sense of humor. “Mrs. Pierce, she was tough to get along with,” recalled William “Bucky” Bush, George Bush’s youngest brother. “She was kind of a gloomy person, and she thought Martha, Barbara’s older sister, had hung the moon—tall and beautiful and long, curly hair. Barbara got kind of second shrift with her mother, which I don’t think she ever got over,” he told me. But he described Barbara’s father as “a really all-time wonderful man—bright, funny, literate, well-read, beautiful athlete and just fun to be around.” Pauline Pierce could hardly have