Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Kingmaker is Sonia Purnell’s story of Pamela Churchill Harriman—dismissed in her youth as foolish and frumpy and later on as a sex-obsessed gold digger—who defied her critics. A glamorous woman whose life was spent in pursuit of power and who, up against the entrenched, old-fashioned sexism and misogyny of the early twentieth century, became arguably the most powerful woman and greatest courtesan of her time, counting among her friends a veritable who’s who of the twentieth century’s most important movers and shakers, politicians, royalty and socialites. Former Democratic political consultant and advisor to Harriman, Robert Shrum, speaks with Purnell about Harriman’s exceptional influence on two continents over a staggering 50-year span.
"Her detractors were wrong that her charms were a ‘substitute for intellect and insight’.” —Robert Shrum
Kingmaker is Sonia Purnell’s story of Pamela Churchill Harriman—dismissed in her youth as foolish and frumpy and later on as a sex-obsessed gold digger—who defied her critics. A glamorous woman whose life was spent in pursuit of power and who, up against the entrenched, old-fashioned sexism and misogyny of the early twentieth century, became arguably the most powerful woman and greatest courtesan of her time, counting among her friends a veritable who’s who of the twentieth century’s most important movers and shakers, politicians, royalty and socialites. Former Democratic political consultant and advisor to Harriman, Robert Shrum, speaks with Purnell about Harriman’s exceptional influence on two continents over a staggering 50-year span.
"Her detractors were wrong that her charms were a ‘substitute for intellect and insight’.” —Robert Shrum
