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.
Susan Quinn is the author of Furious Improvisation- How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times and Marie Curie- A Life, among other books. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, and other publications. She is the former president of PEN New England and lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
"The love affair between first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and
journalist Lorena "Hick" Hickok has never been treated with as much
care or attention as in Susan Quinn's Eleanor and Hick. Here, Quinn
deftly traces the dissimilar but converging paths of these two
complex women and gives new life to their intimate, dynamic
relationship, against a backdrop of tremendous social upheaval."--
NPR.org, Best Books of 2016 "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
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