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Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady Kindle Edition
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In 1932, as her husband assumed the presidency, Eleanor Roosevelt entered the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the First Lady with dread. By that time, she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life—now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next thirty 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.
They couldn't have been more different. Eleanor had been raised in one of the nation’s most powerful political families and was introduced to society as a debutante before marrying her distant cousin, Franklin. Hick, as she was known, had grown up poor in rural South Dakota and worked as a servant girl after she escaped an abusive home, eventually becoming one of the most respected reporters at the AP. Her admiration drew the buttoned-up Eleanor out of her shell, and the two quickly fell in love. For the next thirteen years, Hick had her own room at the White House, next door to the First Lady.
These fiercely compassionate women inspired each other to right the wrongs of the turbulent era in which they lived. During the Depression, Hick reported from the nation’s poorest areas for the WPA, and Eleanor used these reports to lobby her husband for New Deal programs. Hick encouraged Eleanor to turn their frequent letters into her popular and long-lasting syndicated column "My Day," and to befriend the female journalists who became her champions. When Eleanor’s tenure as First Lady ended with FDR's death, Hick pushed her to continue to use her popularity for good—advice Eleanor took by leading the UN’s postwar Human Rights Commission. At every turn, the bond these women shared was grounded in their determination to better their troubled world.
Deeply researched and told with great warmth, Eleanor and Hick is a vivid portrait of love and a revealing look at how an unlikely romance influenced some of the most consequential years in American history.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin Books
- Publication dateSeptember 27, 2016
- File size14017 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Splendid. . . . Written with style and verve, and vigorously researched . . . filled with delightful details and provocative musings.”—Blanche Wiesen Cook, Women’s Review of Books
“Fascinating.”—Susan Dunn, The New York Review of Books
“Making sense of this famous relationship has been complicated for historians, and Quinn concedes the impossibility of knowing what, exactly, happened between the two women physically. But, drawing extensively on their letters, she makes a strong case that the bond they shared was indeed romantic. . . .The abiding impression of this book is the intricacy of Roosevelt’s intimate life.”—The New Yorker
“A poignant account of a love affair doomed by circumstance and conflicting needs. Combining exhaustive research with emotional nuance, Quinn dives deep to convey the differing characters of president and first lady.”—Richard Norton Smith, The Wall Street Journal
“Captivating…In prose that reads as fluidly and mesmerizingly as fiction, Quinn tells the story of the First Lady's marital discontent and determination to live an independent life despite her prominent position in the public eye, and of the 30-year-long partnership and love that unfolded between Roosevelt and Hickok…Beyond just a compelling love story, Eleanor and Hick brings to light a different side of the early-20th century White House, revealing the significant impact of this unconventional relationship on American political and cultural history.” —Harper’s Bazaar, Best Books of 2016
“An engrossing double biography. . . . Quinn brings new depth to their epic, three-decade-long love story.”— New York Post
“Quinn writes about both women with great sensitivity, from the childhood wounds they both bore to their influence on one another as writers and social activists. Meticulously researched, engagingly written, and emotionally resonant, this is a welcome addition to the Roosevelt book shelf.”— The Boston Globe
“A brisk, readable account of the intersection between these two women.”— New York Times Book Review
“Quinn sorts through the over three thousand letters the two sent to each other — honest, passionate and principled correspondence — to create a fascinating picture of the power and joy of the women’s “subversive act” and its beneficial impact on the country at large.”— Brit & Co.
“Quinn has produced an intimate book, tender and wise.”—Stacy Schiff, The Washington Post
“Fascinating.”—People
“A delightful account.”—1843 (The Economist)
“Apart from chronicling a beautiful and complex friendship, Quinn also makes a strong case here that Eleanor Roosevelt was the most politically significant first lady America has ever had.”— Bookpage
“Eleanor and Hick marvelously weaves the lives of these two women together, showing their fierce independence and yet continual dependence on each other. The book also reflects a refreshing change in cultural opinion, most likely one that will usher in books on other historical homosexual relationships just as well-researched and kind.”— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“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.”—Booklist
“A well-researched dual biography. . . . Fast paced and engaging, this work will enthrall readers of presidential biographies and LGBTQ studies.” —Library Journal
“Quinn deftly explores how the unlikely relationship evolved, relying on correspondence between the women, oral histories in archives, various government documents, and numerous other sources that allow readers to learn a great deal about normally private affairs…. A relentlessly captivating study of two remarkable individuals who helped extend the roles of American women in the public policy realm.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Susan Quinn’s tender book of love and loyalty—set during the most tumultuous time of the twentieth century—reads like a whispered confidence. The forbidden relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and hardscrabble journalist Lorena Hickok is one of the great love affairs in history, and yet it has remained largely untold. Thanks to Quinn, their beautiful and courageous story is a secret no longer.”—Mary Gabriel, author of Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award
“In telling with vivid detail the story of a remarkable relationship between two strong women, Susan Quinn has provided a new way to look at some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century. Eleanor and Hick is delightful, moving, penetrating history.”—David Maraniss, author of Barack Obama: The Story
“Eleanor Roosevelt’s love affair with ace AP reporter Lorena Hickok, carried on just outside public view during the most public years of their lives, fascinates and inspires in Susan Quinn’s irresistible telling. Eleanor and Hick is a powerfully moving and vital story that could not have been told in its day, and alters radically what we thought we knew about America’s most influential and best-loved First Lady.”—Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life
“This is an important and probably unique biography in the history of the U.S. presidency. The special virtue of Eleanor and Hick is that Susan Quinn permits us to see how Eleanor Roosevelt’s long, intimate relationship with Lorena Hickok helped her become not just a First Lady but a great one: courageous, committed, compassionate—and complicated. A triumph.” —Nigel Hamilton, author of The Mantle of Command
About the Author
“Splendid. . . . Written with style and verve, and vigorously researched . . . filled with delightful details and provocative musings.”—Blanche Wiesen Cook, Women’s Review of Books
“Fascinating.”—Susan Dunn, The New York Review of Books
“Making sense of this famous relationship has been complicated for historians, and Quinn concedes the impossibility of knowing what, exactly, happened between the two women physically. But, drawing extensively on their letters, she makes a strong case that the bond they shared was indeed romantic. . . .The abiding impression of this book is the intricacy of Roosevelt’s intimate life.”—The New Yorker
“A poignant account of a love affair doomed by circumstance and conflicting needs. Combining exhaustive research with emotional nuance, Quinn dives deep to convey the differing characters of president and first lady.”—Richard Norton Smith, The Wall Street Journal
“Captivating…In prose that reads as fluidly and mesmerizingly as fiction, Quinn tells the story of the First Lady's marital discontent and determination to live an independent life despite her prominent position in the public eye, and of the 30-year-long partnership and love that unfolded between Roosevelt and Hickok…Beyond just a compelling love story, Eleanor and Hick brings to light a different side of the early-20th century White House, revealing the significant impact of this unconventional relationship on American political and cultural history.” —Harper’s Bazaar, Best Books of 2016
“An engrossing double biography. . . . Quinn brings new depth to their epic, three-decade-long love story.”— New York Post
“Quinn writes about both women with great sensitivity, from the childhood wounds they both bore to their influence on one another as writers and social activists. Meticulously researched, engagingly written, and emotionally resonant, this is a welcome addition to the Roosevelt book shelf.”— The Boston Globe
“A brisk, readable account of the intersection between these two women.”— New York Times Book Review
“Quinn sorts through the over three thousand letters the two sent to each other — honest, passionate and principled correspondence — to create a fascinating picture of the power and joy of the women’s “subversive act” and its beneficial impact on the country at large.”— Brit & Co.
“Quinn has produced an intimate book, tender and wise.”—Stacy Schiff, The Washington Post
“Fascinating.”—People
“A delightful account.”—1843 (The Economist)
“Apart from chronicling a beautiful and complex friendship, Quinn also makes a strong case here that Eleanor Roosevelt was the most politically significant first lady America has ever had.”— Bookpage
“Eleanor and Hick marvelously weaves the lives of these two women together, showing their fierce independence and yet continual dependence on each other. The book also reflects a refreshing change in cultural opinion, most likely one that will usher in books on other historical homosexual relationships just as well-researched and kind.”— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“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.”—Booklist
“A well-researched dual biography. . . . Fast paced and engaging, this work will enthrall readers of presidential biographies and LGBTQ studies.” —Library Journal
“Quinn deftly explores how the unlikely relationship evolved, relying on correspondence between the women, oral histories in archives, various government documents, and numerous other sources that allow readers to learn a great deal about normally private affairs…. A relentlessly captivating study of two remarkable individuals who helped extend the roles of American women in the public policy realm.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Susan Quinn’s tender book of love and loyalty—set during the most tumultuous time of the twentieth century—reads like a whispered confidence. The forbidden relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and hardscrabble journalist Lorena Hickok is one of the great love affairs in history, and yet it has remained largely untold. Thanks to Quinn, their beautiful and courageous story is a secret no longer.”—Mary Gabriel, author of Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award
“In telling with vivid detail the story of a remarkable relationship between two strong women, Susan Quinn has provided a new way to look at some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century. Eleanor and Hick is delightful, moving, penetrating history.”—David Maraniss, author of Barack Obama: The Story
“Eleanor Roosevelt’s love affair with ace AP reporter Lorena Hickok, carried on just outside public view during the most public years of their lives, fascinates and inspires in Susan Quinn’s irresistible telling. Eleanor and Hick is a powerfully moving and vital story that could not have been told in its day, and alters radically what we thought we knew about America’s most influential and best-loved First Lady.”—Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life
“This is an important and probably unique biography in the history of the U.S. presidency. The special virtue of Eleanor and Hick is that Susan Quinn permits us to see how Eleanor Roosevelt’s long, intimate relationship with Lorena Hickok helped her become not just a First Lady but a great one: courageous, committed, compassionate—and complicated. A triumph.” —Nigel Hamilton, author of The Mantle of Command
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Beginning to Trust
By the time Franklin Delano Roosevelt was nominated for president, in August 1932, some doubted whether a survivor of polio, paralyzed from the waist down, had the strength to conduct a vigorous campaign, let alone lead the country out of the worst economic depression in its history. Even his advisers were worried. FDR came up with a defiant answer to all of them: a nine-thousand-mile, twenty-one-day trip through seventeen midwestern and western states aboard the Roosevelt Special.
It was a trip perfectly suited to both FDR’s temperament and his physical limitations. As soon as the train came to a stop, FDR stepped out on the rear platform, gripping the arm of his son Jimmy. The railing cut off sight of his lower body, so the public saw only his broad shoulders and chest as he delivered his one-minute address. “It’s nice to be back in Dubuque,” he would begin, flashing his wide smile, adding, “I’m just here to look, learn, and listen.” His speech was patrician, but his message was friendly, and his physical courage buoyed his worried listeners.
Between stops, FDR had only to look out the train window to see just how bad things had become. In Chicago, there were blocks of lifeless factories, overgrown parks, and rows of vacant stores with blackened windows. Shantytowns, clustered along the railroad tracks, sent up smoke from cooking fires. In the rich farm country of Iowa and Ohio, the farmhouses were unpainted, the fences were crumbling, and food was rotting in the fields. By the time the Roosevelt Special reached Seattle, Roosevelt had reason to speak “in the name of a stricken America and a stricken world.”
Even in such terrible times, however, Franklin Roosevelt managed to enjoy himself. He loved everything about campaigning, from the enthusiasm of the local crowds to the sparring with the newspaper “boys.” FDR’s sitting room was open to all comers: local politicians got on and off, and close advisers and future cabinet members huddled late into the night, plotting a future course for a country in crisis. FDR enhanced his listening and learning with healthy doses of jokes, storytelling, poker, and booze.
Eleanor Roosevelt waited until the return journey from the West Coast to join the Roosevelt Special. She didn’t share her husband’s enthusiasm for the cheering admirers on the campaign trail. “It seems undignified and meaningless but perhaps we need it!” she once confided. She wasn’t comfortable with the jocular atmosphere around FDR, either. Try as she might, Eleanor didn’t always get the jokes and was uncomfortable with the teasing. On her honeymoon, she had refused to join a bridge game that involved money, because she had been raised to think it was improper. Drinking, especially, made her uneasy. She had her own reasons for disliking even the smell of alcohol: her father had drunk himself to death, and it now looked as though her brother was going down the same path.
Eleanor had plenty to say about policy issues. But the politicians and brain trusters who surrounded Franklin rarely thought to include her in their discussions. The exception was Louis Howe, a wizened little man with a scarred face and bulging eyes who had been a true believer in FDR’s greatness since they met in 1911. Eleanor Roosevelt had been repelled by Howe in the early days: he was an inelegant chain-smoking newspaperman, the sort of person she had been brought up to avoid. But Howe’s attentions to her in 1920, when FDR was running for vice president on the ill-fated Democratic ticket, went a long way toward changing her mind. When Franklin was stricken with polio on Campobello Island, Eleanor and Louis became a team. They were the only ones who believed that FDR had a political future in those years immediately following the diagnosis. Howe came to understand then that Eleanor could keep Roosevelt aspirations alive while FDR recovered. He urged her to lower her high-pitched voice and suppress her nervous giggle when she spoke in public, and he encouraged her to get more involved in New York politics. In time, he even had the idea that Eleanor should run for president herself.
For Louis Howe, the trip on the Roosevelt Special was a dream come true: he’d been working toward the presidential run ever since Franklin Roosevelt first served in the New York state legislature. Shrewd political operative that he was, Howe was confident that the Hoover campaign was doomed and that FDR was about to become the next president of the United States.
Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t want to believe it. The spark that Howe had ignited in her had led to a new, independent life. She was the cofounder of a craft workshop called Val-Kill Industries, a cofounder and teacher at a girls’ school, and an activist with other women in New York politics. What’s more, she knew a fair amount about the ceremonial burden involved in being First Lady: her aunt Edith had been an exemplary one for her uncle Theodore. She didn’t want any part of it. She had been as passionate as Howe about FDR’s political rehabilitation. But she didn’t share his excitement now, as the Roosevelt Special gained momentum.
It was comforting, under the circumstances, when the campaign train went off on a side rail so that she could pay a visit to an old friend who would understand and sympathize. Eleanor and Isabella Greenway had endured “coming out” as debutantes in consecutive years—both looked upon it as more duty than pleasure—and Isabella had been a bridesmaid in the Roosevelt wedding, staying by Eleanor’s side as they organized the myriad presents and even composing some of the thank-you notes. Since then, Isabella had married Robert Ferguson, an old family friend, and moved with him to Prescott, Arizona, in hopes that the dry climate would cure his tuberculosis.
Since Eleanor and her husband kept friends forever, it was natural for them to take a day off from the campaign trail, away from press and public, to visit Isabella and her husband in Prescott. Journalists were more obliging in those days: photographers agreed not to take pictures that included FDR’s wheelchair. No picture of FDR in a crablike position, as his prone and helpless body was lifted in and out of his automobile, ever made the newspapers. Giving the family a day off to visit friends was all right with them.
What did surprise and rankle the reporters, though, was that an exception was made for one rookie Chicago Tribune reporter named John Boettiger, who for some reason was asked to come along on the private visit. No one resented this slight more than Lorena Hickok. Hick was the only female reporter on the Roosevelt Special and one of the top female reporters in the country, and she’d gotten there by fighting for stories. “Most women,” fellow reporter Walter B. “Rags” Ragsdale noted, “were society editors or worked the social beat. The rarities were women who fought and scratched their way to the street as regular reporters.” Another reporter who knew her well noticed that a red rash tended to develop on the back of Hick’s neck if she thought she was getting cheated out of a plum assignment.
Hick had already complained when she discovered that all the men on the Roosevelt Special had compartments or drawing rooms in which to sleep and work, while she was stuck with a small berth up toward the engine, in the neighborhood of the local reporters. So naturally she was furious about John Boettiger, an inexperienced reporter, getting special treatment. She decided to complain to Eleanor Roosevelt about it.
Hick didn’t expect the reaction she got: Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to come along too. Hick was intrigued, and a little puzzled. Eleanor had kept her at a distance in the past. When she had interviewed Eleanor at the governor’s mansion, she had been invited up to the drawing room for an elegant tea, poured from a silver pot. On that day, like all others, Lorena Hickok dressed to be taken seriously: a soft silk shirt collar over a suit jacket and a skirt, of course. She was a presence. Her legs were shapely, her shoes sensible. She had a round face with a strong, determined jaw, and intense, penetrating eyes. At five foot eight, she was broad without looking fat.
Though hardly a fashion plate herself, Hick had felt sorry for Eleanor. She could tell that Eleanor felt homely, despite her warm blue eyes and winning smile. She dressed abominably, in Hick’s view: her skirt was too long, her blouse was a terrible green, and she wore a hairnet with an elastic that cut into her forehead. She had inherited the protruding front teeth of the Teddy Roosevelt branch of the family.
Yet Eleanor had a natural elegance when she moved. Hick was struck by her long slender hands and the graceful way she manipulated the tea things. At tea that day, Eleanor kept everything friendly but bland. Hick had a strong impression that the governor’s wife didn’t trust her. That was why she was surprised when Eleanor asked her to come along to Prescott: something had changed. Hick, ever the reporter, soon figured it out: it all had to do with a long conversation she’d had late one night with Eleanor’s secretary, Malvina Thompson, as the two of them kept each other company on the Roosevelt Special.
Malvina Thompson, known to everyone as Tommy, was much more than the usual secretary: she was Eleanor’s fiercely loyal friend and traveling companion, always willing to work at Eleanor’s demanding pace. The two had met while both were working on Al Smith’s 1928 presidential campaign. Afterward, Tommy became secretary to Louie Howe, but she worked on the side for Eleanor. By the time FDR was elected governor of New York, Tommy and Eleanor were a full-time team. Tommy was married until 1939, and had another man in her life after that. But most of her waking hours were devoted to the woman she called “Mrs. R.” Tommy and Hick had a lot in common: they were born the same year, came from the working class, smoked, drank, and held strong opinions. It was natural for them to gravitate toward each other when work was done.
The train moved along at a measured pace during the day, when FDR was sitting up in his custom-built chair in the parlor car. If it went too fast, the jerks and jiggles made it hard for him to steady himself for reading and conversation. At night, the engineer made up for lost time, hurtling though the dark. It may have been a train whistle late one night that prompted Tommy Thompson to share a childhood memory with Hick about her father, who had worked as a locomotive engineer on the railroad. He would sound three short blasts on the train whistle in a private salute as the train roared past the family’s apartment windows in the Bronx.
It was such a touching idea and so at odds with Hick’s own childhood memories that it prompted her to open up to Tommy about her painful past. Hick’s mother had died when she was thirteen, leaving her to deal with her violent, abusive father. Within a year, he remarried, and the stepmother kicked her out of the house. From age fourteen on, she had had to make her own way in the hardscrabble pioneer towns of South Dakota, living in other people’s houses as a hired girl.
When Eleanor heard Hick’s story from Thompson, it changed her view of the tough AP reporter. Because her own life had been scarred by loss and disappointment, she was drawn to others who had suffered and struggled. After that, she began to suspect what Hick’s fellow reporters already knew. There was the surface Hick: blasé and shock-proof, a tough-minded reporter who knew how to drink and smoke with the boys, and who fought for her rights. Then there was the tender-hearted and sometimes shy Hick underneath, who bore witness to the suffering of ordinary people in those terrible times.
Long before she joined the AP, back when she was a reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune, Hick could be relied on to find and tell the most vivid stories of hardship: long, detailed pieces about girls who came to Minneapolis from little farm towns and got into trouble, about an injured worker who decided to crawl under a bridge and starve to death, about an organ grinder whose monkey was stolen.
Hick was still looking for such stories on the campaign trail. Her fellow reporter Rags Ragsdale would often cover FDR’s whistle-stop speeches while Hick circulated in the crowd and talked to people about their lives. “Many times, she came back aboard the campaign train,” Ragsdale remembered, “fuming and almost tearful over a hard-luck story she had picked up from someone in the crowd.”
There were unending hard-luck stories. During a stopover in Topeka, Kansas, Hick watched Franklin Roosevelt address thousands of “deeply tanned, grim-faced farmers, some so ragged that they reminded one of pictures of starving Mongolian peasants in the rotogravure sections of the Sunday papers. They did not cheer. They did not applaud. They just stood there in the broiling sun, silent, listening.”
After her day with Eleanor in Prescott, Hick realized why rookie reporter John Boettiger was getting special treatment: he was having an affair with the Roosevelts’ oldest child, Anna, who was unhappily married to Curtis Dall. Not long after, both Anna and John would divorce in order to marry each other.
The divorce was fodder for the gossip columns when it finally happened. But when Hick came back from her day with the Roosevelts and briefed her fellow reporters, she talked about the ranch and the barbecue, not the affair. It was the first of many family secrets she would keep.
The more important discovery Hick made that day was that Eleanor Roosevelt was at least as fascinating as her husband. “Lorena was as excited as I ever saw her when she came back,” Ragsdale remembered. “From this time forward it became hard for her to write with the usual AP restraint about Mrs. Roosevelt.”
In the past, Hick had avoided writing about politicians’ wives: fashion, teas, and charity events were women’s page stuff, and she’d escaped that long before, during her initiation at the Milwaukee Sentinel. Eleanor, in turn, resisted the curiosity of reporters, especially if it touched on anything personal. Her grandmother had taught her that it was unseemly to appear in the public eye. “I gave as little information as possible,” she explained in her first memoir, “feeling that that was the only right attitude toward any newspaper people where a woman and her home were concerned.”
Eleanor had good reason to be wary of all reporters. As the Boettiger incident would make clear, things went on in the Roosevelt household that needed to be kept away from the scandal-loving press. What’s more, Eleanor disliked the usual portrayals of the devoted political wife at least as much as Hick hated writing them. In Eleanor’s case, as Hick would soon discover, that ceremonial role was a façade that had little to do with who she really was.
Product details
- ASIN : B01CFBJZLQ
- Publisher : Penguin Books; Reprint edition (September 27, 2016)
- Publication date : September 27, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 14017 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 413 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,315 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
I spent most of my childhood in a southern Ohio mill town called Chillicothe, where my father was an ophthalmologist. My mother was a writer herself: although self-effacing in real life she had a devil-may-care style on the page that still emboldens me. I was an English major at Oberlin, but I learned most in college from my work on the newspaper, in the theater and living slightly outside the rules at the Coop.
While working in the professional theater in Cleveland, I met a medical student who told me that the most important thing in life is to be happy. This idea so astounded me that I went on to marry Daniel Jacobs, who became a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
Like Lorena Hickok, whose story I tell in Eleanor and Hick, I started my writing career as a newspaper reporter—going out to do whatever absurd assignment my editor thought up, first in Cleveland and later in Boston. Sometimes—as when I followed a regular customer around the ‘combat zone’ for an alternative weekly called the Real Paper—it meant taking risks to get the story. I later won magazine awards for a story in which I posed as a homebuyer to compare home inspectors and another about a secret rendez-vous in Moscow with the sister of a Russian émigré.
My several women’s groups, where others were struggling as I was to find a voice, helped me to make the leap from magazine journalism to my first book: the biography of a strong and original woman, a psychoanalyst named Karen Horney. A Mind of Her Own: The Life of Karen Horney won the Boston Globe Winship award and led to support for my next project. Grants from the Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations allowed me to do research in Poland and France for a biography of Marie Curie, which has now been translated into many languages. A subsequent book, Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times, focused on government-sponsored theater during the Great Depression. But it too celebrated a strong woman, Hallie Flanagan, the embattled director of the Federal Theatre Project.
My current book, Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped A First Lady, presented a new kind of writing challenge. For the first time, I had to tell the story of two intertwining lives. Because my daughter is gay, I felt a special connection to this story of love between women. Also, I felt immediate sympathy for Lorena Hickok, the AP journalist universally known as “Hick.” She was a reporter, as I had been. She came from the Midwest, as I did. I was moved by the story of Hick’s triumph over an unspeakably cruel childhood, and impressed by her remarkable success in what was then an oppressively male world of journalism.
In one of her thousands of letters to Eleanor Roosevelt, Hick wrote of her attempt to distinguish between her feelings about the “person” she knew and loved and the “personage” known and admired by the public. I too struggled with this. I had long idealized Eleanor Roosevelt from afar, and my treatment of her in early drafts of the book reflected this awe. I referred to her not simply as “Eleanor” but rather as Eleanor Roosevelt or ER. Even though Eleanor had begged close friends to call her by her first name, almost no one did. And I, writing over 50 years after her death, couldn’t do it either at first. But during my many days of absorption in the intimate letters she exchanged with Hick, I realized that a book about their love for each other would be asymmetrical unless I used both their first names. As soon as I began to call Eleanor Roosevelt “Eleanor,” the personage receded and the person took center stage. Through her relationship with Hick, I saw her up close, and gained a new understanding of her courage and of the vulnerability she worked so hard to hide from the world.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book interesting, enjoyable, and informative. They praise the writing quality as well-written and captivating. Readers appreciate the historical content and accurate account of the era. They describe Eleanor Roosevelt as a great woman and Hick as brilliant. The romance between these two women is described as honest and realistic. However, some customers found the book repetitive and tedious at times.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the book. They find it interesting and enjoyable from start to finish. The first half is intriguing, while the second half becomes predictable. However, some readers feel the book provides a deeper understanding of Eleanor's motivations.
"...is a great story, much of it shaped by Lorena Hickok. Lorena played several roles, lover, confidante and editor...." Read more
"This was an interesting book, and while it gives some insightful evidence regarding the relationship between Eleanor and Hick, it is much more a..." Read more
"...Truthful & a view from someone who knew the story behind the story. Well written & well researched. The truth can be told at last." Read more
"I was intrigued by news of the affair but this was far more interesting than I was expecting...." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and informative about Eleanor Roosevelt's life. It provides an important perspective into her relationships with Hicks and FDR. The book illuminates the significant roles that both women played in history. While some readers found the writing engaging, others felt it dragged at times.
""Eleanor and Hick" is a great book of learning about Eleanor Roosevelt and history! Great price! Thank you!" Read more
"This was an interesting book, and while it gives some insightful evidence regarding the relationship between Eleanor and Hick, it is much more a..." Read more
"...Well written & well researched. The truth can be told at last." Read more
"...It is well researched, but does not verify the extent of their relationship...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's writing quality. They find it well-written and engaging, weaving in history in a light and captivating style. The book has a good flow and is filled with detail from historical letters.
"This was a well written book that told the story of the relationship of two outstanding women...." Read more
"...Truthful & a view from someone who knew the story behind the story. Well written & well researched. The truth can be told at last." Read more
"...is not an exciting page-turner, but it's well-written, filled with a wealth of detail and material gleaned from personal letters and journals of the..." Read more
"...I couldn’t care less. This book is written in current day, but it felt like she was writing it for a homophobic audience...." Read more
Customers find the book's history content accurate and interesting. They appreciate the well-researched background on Eleanor Roosevelt's life and the people of the time. The narrative is described as terrific for those interested in Eleanor Roosevelt and her significant impact on American life during the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
"...The author makes you feel present in a fascinating period of history, and at the same time gives an intimate view of some of the players on our..." Read more
"...details about their relationship, but there’s lots of background to help understand the people and the times, especially Eleanor through the years...." Read more
"...and people mentioned in the narrative, so the descriptions are infused with emotional warmth and detailed descriptions...." Read more
"...I'm so glad I know more about them both now. Great biography of both and the world they cherished and were chained to." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's insights into women. They find Eleanor Roosevelt and Hickok powerful, strong, and effective. The book provides a biographical account of two interesting people and their dynamic relationships during that time.
"...Eleanor came across as very human. Although she remained married to FDR, she remained estranged and went on to build her own life apart from him...." Read more
"HICK is a look at the real version of Eleanor Roosevelt I always expected but knew was always there...." Read more
"...This is an excellent biographical account of two very interesting people." Read more
"A first rate book...the compelling character here , in the book, is ms Hickok....I know I would have the concurrence of one person....mrs Roosevelt...." Read more
Customers enjoy the romance in the book. They find the relationship honest and realistic, with a great love story. The story of how they found and loved each other is unique. Readers appreciate that Eleanor was able to develop other relationships while still maintaining her loving relationship with her.
"...HOWEVER HE DID ALLOW HER TO BE "HER". A GREAT LOVE STORY IN A REALISTIC WAY." Read more
"...The story of how they found and loved each other is unique; more understandable now than it would have been when it was happening...." Read more
"...Her loving relationship with Eleanor of course was the main theme, even though that changed over the years...." Read more
"...It is heartwarming to see that she was able to develop other relationships which allowed her to be more of herself." Read more
Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find it easy to read with good primary and secondary sources, while others feel it drags along and is too long.
"The story is fascinating but the author's pace seems exceptionally slow...." Read more
"...Roosevelt's approach to the presidency. In addition, it's an easy, straight forward read that does not overwhelm the reader...." Read more
"This book is so slow. It reads like an itinerary with very little conversation between people...." Read more
"Well written story of love, complications and a different world." Read more
Customers find the book repetitive and boring at times. They find it hard to stay interested and lose interest. The ending is predictable and disappointing for some readers.
"...I was unbelievably happy to finally finish this book. I did find it tedious and boring at times." Read more
"Boring....this book was so repetitive and self indulgent. I wanted to like it, but it was drudgery to get through it...." Read more
"...of the book was intriguing - the second half was rather boring and predictable." Read more
"...However, I read about 1/2 of it and then found it somewhat repetitive. It just didn't hold my interest." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2024"Eleanor and Hick" is a great book of learning about Eleanor Roosevelt and history! Great price! Thank you!
- Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2017This was a well written book that told the story of the relationship of two outstanding women. The author placed the relationship in the context of the history of the time. Eleanor came across as very human. Although she remained married to FDR, she remained estranged and went on to build her own life apart from him. This included a supportive emotional life with Hick, her dear friend. Eleanor was indefatigable in her service to the American people. I appreciate the authors insights into the lives of these two remarkable women.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2016Once I started this book, I could not put it down. The author makes you feel present in a fascinating period of history, and at the same time gives an intimate view of some of the players on our national stage. The Roosevelt years are so illuminated by this slant-wise view! We come to understand what mattered to a renowned first lady, both publicly and privately.
The saga of Eleanor’s life, work and friends, and her apartment in Greenwich Village (while she was living in the White House!) is a great story, much of it shaped by Lorena Hickok. Lorena played several roles, lover, confidante and editor. It was in letters to her that Eleanor began the daily column which brought her thoughts to Americans and the rest of the world for so many years. There are thousands of these letters, and I believe Susan Quinn read all of them, then distilling years of research into this delightful book.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2019This was an interesting book, and while it gives some insightful evidence regarding the relationship between Eleanor and Hick, it is much more a book about Eleanor. That's not to say this is not an interesting read and I would absolutely recommend it, but the premise the title suggests is a weak one. There is no solid smoking gun that Hick "shaped a First Lady", but the book certainly exposes the multi-faceted and complex person of Eleanor Roosevelt. Hick, while the author attempts to show her influence and personhood, falls rather short. Hick is but an afterthought for much of the book, thrown in here and there to try to convince the reader that the story is really about true love. It is easy do deduce (for me) that there WAS love held between the two women, but that love was not the sole focus of either women. I did resent the title at times, as it seemed to be created so that people would buy the book. However, to be fair, this was a very interesting read and exposed me to many aspects of Eleanor as well as FDR that I had never known before.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2020HICK is a look at the real version of Eleanor Roosevelt I always expected but knew was always there. Truthful & a view from someone who knew the story behind the story. Well written & well researched. The truth can be told at last.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2017I've always enjoyed presidential history, both men and the women who were behind the president. If you have read FDR or FDR and Eleanor, the Roosevelt years, you may already know a lot of the material covered in this book. However, this time the emphasis is on the incredible women, Eleanor and Hick, who as First Lady and a news journalist, really shaped a lot of policy changes and made women see different choices were possible.
It is well researched, but does not verify the extent of their relationship. It made no difference to me, I didn't need to know any extent of any physical intimacy for the period of time they were in each other's lives before events separated them. The bond of intimacy was very much one of supportive women, social causes, probably more intellectual than deeply physical. People used to be journal and letter writers. Eleanor needed people; Hicks seemed to need Eleanor more than anything besides her career.
They were both misfits in their world with a great deal of emotional baggage from childhood of being unloved and not the social debutante. Eleanor came from a wealthy class; Hicks did not. Eleanor had difficulty feeling worthy and giving love (not that she didn't love) but FDR's polio and the strong influence of her mother-in-law, his need for the spotlight and mistress, often pushed Eleanor aside, except for being a worthy political helpmate. There is no doubt that polio and a political career deeply affected their marriage.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2016I WAS A CHILD WHEN FDR WAS PRESIDENT. I HAVE READ MANY BOOKS ABOUT HIS AND ELINOR'S LIFE, MARRIAGE, ETC. AS A CHILD HER VOICE WAS A "DETERENT TO ME". LOVE BETWEEN TWO WOMEN IN THE 1940'S-50'S WAS A SCANDAL; HOWEVER AS I AGED I LOOKED AT THINGS DIFFERENTLY. ACTUALLY LATER SOCIETY LOOKED AT THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
I ALWAYS ADMIRED THE THINGS SHE DID AND THAT STUCK IN MY MIND AS I MATURED. WHAT A WOMAN!! WAY AHEAD OF THE TIMES AND ALWAYS DOING SOMEONE SOME GOOD - NEVER ABOUT HER. I REALIZE NOW, AT MY AGE, THAT SHE WAS A WOMAN THAT WOULD PUT THE WOMEN THAT "STOOD UP FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS" IN LATER YEARS TO SHAME. I THINK FRANKLIN LOVED HER AND REALIZED THAT ABOUT HER AND CERTAINLY ALLOWED HER TO BE WHO SHE WAS. HOWEVER, HE DID BREAK HER HEART BECAUSE OF HER "OLD FASHIONED" VIEW OF LIFE. HOWEVER HE DID ALLOW HER TO BE "HER". A GREAT LOVE STORY IN A REALISTIC WAY.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020I was intrigued by news of the affair but this was far more interesting than I was expecting. There weren’t a lot of juicy details about their relationship, but there’s lots of background to help understand the people and the times, especially Eleanor through the years. It felt very current. I’m impressed that they were able to keep their relationship going for so many decades. This is an excellent biographical account of two very interesting people.
Top reviews from other countries
- The Reading RoomReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2019
4.0 out of 5 stars Eleanor and Hick – A Formidable Partnership.
Susan Quinn’s extensive research and writing style makes ‘Eleanor and Hick’ informative and enjoyable reading – 4 Stars
Eleanor Roosevelt met Lorena Hickok (Hick) in 1932, just as FDR was elected for his first term as President. Using a variety of sources, this book explores the nature of their long relationship. Although non-fiction, Susan Quinn writes in a style that makes for very easy reading, the structure presenting each chapter is a snapshot of a particular time or place. Among the books written on this subject, ‘Eleanor and Hick’ is, in my opinion, the most readable.
It’s always difficult when there is no absolute proof to support a hypothesis, but Quinn makes an eloquent case for the relationship between Eleanor and Hick being one that ran much deeper than a close friendship. While Quinn certainly doesn’t make light of the difficulties that both women faced during their relationship, she offers supporting evidence to make the case that this was indeed a love affair, but whether that love was ever expressed in a sexual way is still open to interpretation. What becomes clearly evident though is that the relationship played a critical role in making Eleanor Roosevelt one of the century’s most revered and inspirational women.
My only real gripe with the book is the system of referencing used, and I would have liked to learn more of the influence Eleanor’s lesbian friends had on the Eleanor/Hick relationship. That apart, ‘Eleanor and Hick’ was interesting, informative, and very easy reading.
The Reading Room
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2019
Eleanor Roosevelt met Lorena Hickok (Hick) in 1932, just as FDR was elected for his first term as President. Using a variety of sources, this book explores the nature of their long relationship. Although non-fiction, Susan Quinn writes in a style that makes for very easy reading, the structure presenting each chapter is a snapshot of a particular time or place. Among the books written on this subject, ‘Eleanor and Hick’ is, in my opinion, the most readable.
It’s always difficult when there is no absolute proof to support a hypothesis, but Quinn makes an eloquent case for the relationship between Eleanor and Hick being one that ran much deeper than a close friendship. While Quinn certainly doesn’t make light of the difficulties that both women faced during their relationship, she offers supporting evidence to make the case that this was indeed a love affair, but whether that love was ever expressed in a sexual way is still open to interpretation. What becomes clearly evident though is that the relationship played a critical role in making Eleanor Roosevelt one of the century’s most revered and inspirational women.
My only real gripe with the book is the system of referencing used, and I would have liked to learn more of the influence Eleanor’s lesbian friends had on the Eleanor/Hick relationship. That apart, ‘Eleanor and Hick’ was interesting, informative, and very easy reading.
Images in this review - RoseReviewed in Canada on October 25, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical read
Interesting Reading!! Gave me a whole new perspective on their relationship and also on the state of the world.
- Dorothy DoyleReviewed in Canada on November 4, 2016
4.0 out of 5 stars A Life of Inspiration
Excellent reading. A wonderful tribute to a wonderful women. History and personal details were intertwined in such a way that the subject became alive. It was particularly interesting reading this at this time of Election 2016 in the U.S.A.
- Susan JaneReviewed in Australia on November 30, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Sympathetic, well-researched book on Eleanor Roosevelt's love affair with Lorena Hickok
Susan Quinn has written an intriguing book on Eleanor Roosevelt and her love affair with journalist Lorena Hickok which lasted over thirty years.