This groundbreaking new account describes the remarkable courage and lack of convention that kept FDR and Eleanor together.
Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt's marriage is one of the most celebrated and scrutinised partnerships in presidential history. It raised eyebrows in their lifetimes and has only become more controversial since their deaths. From FDR's lifelong romance with Lucy Mercer, to Eleanor's purported lesbianism - and many scandals in between - the public has never tired of speculating about the ties that bound these two headstrong individuals. Some claim that Eleanor sacrificed her personal happiness to accommodate FDR's needs; others claim that the marriage was nothing more than a gracious façade for political convenience. No one has told the full story until now
In this groundbreaking new account of the marriage, Hazel Rowley describes the remarkable courage and lack of convention - private and public - that kept FDR and Eleanor together. She reveals a partnership that was both supportive and daring.
In this dramatic and vivid narrative, set against…
Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt's marriage is one of the most celebrated and scrutinised partnerships in presidential history. It raised eyebrows in their lifetimes and has only become more controversial since their deaths. From FDR's lifelong romance with Lucy Mercer, to Eleanor's purported lesbianism - and many scandals in between - the public has never tired of speculating about the ties that bound these two headstrong individuals. Some claim that Eleanor sacrificed her personal happiness to accommodate FDR's needs; others claim that the marriage was nothing more than a gracious façade for political convenience. No one has told the full story until now.
In this groundbreaking new account of the marriage, Hazel Rowley describes the remarkable courage and lack of convention - private and public - that kept FDR and Eleanor together. She reveals a partnership that was both supportive and daring.
In this dramatic and vivid narrative, set against the great upheavals of the Depression and World War II, Rowley paints a portrait of a tender lifelong companionship, born of mutual admiration and compassion. Most of all, she depicts a bold and radical partnership that has made Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt go down in history as one of the most inspiring and fascinating couples of all time.
Hazel Rowley
Christina Stead: A Biography won the National Book Council Award when it was first published in Australia in 1993, and wide acclaim in the UK and the USA. Hazel Rowley is also the author of Richard Wright: The Life and Times and most recently Tête-à-Tête: Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre (translated into more than a dozen languages). She has been a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, a fellow at Harvard's Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Studies…
"Rowley is a biographer of the very first order and this rosy account of the Roosevelts shows no diminution of her skills. This book will provide a new generation with a succinct account of the lives and time of two Americans of unquestionable human worth."
Carmen Callil — The Monthly
"Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage is a deft and hypnotically readable history of the Roosevelt era."
Morag Fraser — The Age
"Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage is that rarest of books: a political biography you just can't leave alone.You'll be reading into the wee hours."
Sydney Morning Herald
"Rowley's writing and dedication to the task makes this a worthy addition to the burgeoning pile of books about the Roosevelt family."