Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
In 1932, as her husband assumed the presidency, Eleanor Roosevelt entered the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the First Lady with dread. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next 30 years, until Eleanor's death, the two women carried on an extraordinary relationship. They were, at different points, lovers, confidantes, professional advisors and caring friends. This is their story, told with warmth and charm. An important and utterly fascinating book.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-389) and index.
A warm, intimate account of the love between Eleanor Roosevelt and reporter Lorena Hickok--a relationship that, over more than three decades, transformed both women's lives and empowered them to play significant roles in one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Quinn (Marie Curie: A Life) provides a well-researched dual biography and the story of the relationship between First Lady -Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) and journalist Lorena Hickok (1893-1968), nicknamed "Hick." After meeting in 1932 while Hickok was covering Franklin D. Roosevelt's first election, the two women fell in love. Hickok struggled with poverty and abandonment in her early life, succeeding in the male-dominated field of political reporting. When it was clear that her coverage of the first lady could no longer be objective, Eleanor helped Hickok secure a job as a writer with the Works Progress Administration, reporting on New Deal projects across the country. For many years, Hickok lived in the White House and was financially dependent on the Roosevelts, utilizing her connections with them to obtain editorial positions. Although their romance fizzled after a few years, the two women remained friends until Eleanor's death and left behind an extraordinary amount of correspondence for Quinn to mine. VERDICT Fast paced and engaging, this work will enthrall readers of presidential biographies and LGBTQ studies.-Kate Stewart, American Folklife Ctr., -Washington, DC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
Few know of Eleanor Roosevelt's decades-long relationship with Lorena "Hick" Hickok, an Associated Press reporter assigned to cover her in the early years of F.D.R.'s presidency. Though previous biographies have marginalized or disregarded this relationship, Quinn's biography delves deeply into the letters and other records to illustrate a powerfully rich love story that affected the world directly and indirectly. Reader Farr turns in a clever performance for the audio edition. At times, she reads in a straightforward manner. At other points in the book her tone, rhythm, and projection changes, and she becomes lively. These shifts help contrast Roosevelt's public persona as first lady of the United States and her private life with Hick. A Penguin Press hardcover. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
New inquiries offer striking insights into the complicated, often controversial relationships that inspired and sustained Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, including Kathryn Smith's The Gatekeeper (2016), about Missy LeHand and Franklin, and Patricia Bell-Scott's The Firebrand and the First Lady (2016), portraying Pauli Murray and Eleanor. Quinn (Furious Improvisation, 2008) now establishes without equivocation the true, loving nature of the bond between Eleanor and reporter extraordinaire turned White House staffer and frequent resident Lorena Hick Hickok, drawing on some 3,300 letters. Conducted with daring subterfuge and painful restraint, their affair gave Eleanor strength and confidence as she reluctantly became First Lady, then transformed herself into a tireless, far-roaming, and courageous advocate for human rights, while Hick sacrificed her hard-won newspaper career; became a crucial, in-the-field voice shaping the New Deal; and endured much anguish. Quinn tells Eleanor's always astonishing story from a freshly illuminating perspective and brings forward to resounding effect intrepid, eloquent, compassionate, and tough Hick. With episodes hilarious, stunning, and heartbreaking, Quinn's compellingly intimate chronicle tells the long-camouflaged story of a morally and intellectually spirited, taboo-transcending, and world-bettering love.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2016 Booklist