Reviews
[An] enticing new biography. [Rowley's] research, both meticulous and extensive, does not bloat the book into a doorstop. Franklin and Eleanor is less about history than about relationships, and it reads like a wonderful novel at times, giving us a vision of what parts of American life were like then., While numerous books have been written about the FDR presidency, this is a fresh look at what Rowley calls a 'bold and radical partnership'. . .She brings vividly to life one of the great marriages in history., Theirs was one of the great marriages in history, one that reshaped the lives of millions in their own time and beyond. In Hazel Rowley's engaging new book, Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt come alive anew in all their complexity, humanity, and greatness., Any lover of popular history and unorthodox relationships (juicy bits included) will adore this engaging biography., That Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt formed a splendid partnership is not news. But Hazel Rowley, author of acclaimed biogrpahies of Christina Stead, Richard Wright, and Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, dramatizes in intimate detail just how close the connection between husband and wife became...Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, upper New York State aristocrats, became more attuned to the lives of the American people than any other presidential couple--not a claim Rowley makes, but one that becomes evident in reading her magnificent biography., "Does this sad world need yet another helping of salacious Rooseveltian tittle-tattle? With this book, the answer has to be an enthusiastic yes . . . I will go so far as to say that if you are going to read only one book about this extraordinary couple, this is the one." - James Srodes, The Washington Times Book Review "Any lover of popular history and unorthodox relationships (juicy bits included) will adore this engaging biography." - Jessica Gross, Slate, A crackling new biography. . .What distinguishes Rowley's chronicle is her focus on the evolution of the Roosevelt marriage from a standard-issue high-society alliance of its day to a ... what? We don't even have a term for such an unconventional relationship. . . A revelatory biography of a marriage., Here is the most consequential love story of the twentieth century, told with verve, swift narrative drive, and clear-eyed fondness for the lovers. 'Clear-eyed' because Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt's marriage was as difficult as it was momentous: How many husbands have ever had to suffer being nagged about the fate of Yugoslavia? How many wives have had to endure the deflections and evasions of a dissimulator as artful as FDR? Hazel Rowley tells a tale as full of betrayals as it is of a fundamental fidelity, while detailing a partnership so powerful that it has shaped the lives of all of us who read about it today., Hazel Rowley has gone beyond the gossip and gives us a book of real insight and a tale that is as sympathetic as it is cautionary. I will go so far as to say that if you are going to read only one book about this extraordinary couple, this is the one., This fascinating study of the Roosevelt marriage provides an inside look at a complicated relationship...Rowley is excellent setting in motion the competitions, jealousies, and rivalries among those vying for the president's affection and attention. She accomplishes this while also charting the political progress of two heroic public servants, Franklin and Eleanor., Franklin and Eleanor is a fascinating read, rich with insight and detail. Here is a political marriage that rose above politics; a partnership that was driven as much by idealism as by ambition; and a friendship that survived despite all. Hazel Rowley is a wonderful writer with a gift--rare among historians--for entertaining her readers., A distinguished biographer's fresh take on the marriage of the Roosevelts, the most dynamic couple ever to occupy the White House . . . A focused account of a complex marriage that continues to fascinate.
