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    Loving Eleanor
    Loving Eleanor
    Loving Eleanor
    Audiobook10 hours

    Loving Eleanor

    Written by Susan Wittig Albert

    Narrated by Karen White

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    When AP political reporter Lorena Hickok-Hick-is assigned to cover Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1932 campaign, the two women become deeply involved. Their relationship begins with mutual romantic passion, matures through stormy periods of enforced separation and competing interests, and warms into an enduring, encompassing friendship documented by 3,300 letters.

    Set during the chaotic years of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the Second World War, Loving Eleanor reveals Eleanor Roosevelt as a complex, contradictory, and entirely human woman who is pulled in many directions by her obligations to her husband and family and her role as the nation's First Lady. Hick is revealed as an accomplished journalist, who, at the pinnacle of her career, gives it all up for the woman she loves. Then, as Eleanor is transformed into Eleanor Everywhere, First Lady of the World, Hick must create her own independent, productive life. Loving Eleanor is a profoundly moving novel that illuminates a relationship we are seldom privileged to see, celebrating the depth and durability of women's love.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMar 22, 2016
    ISBN9781515974710
    Loving Eleanor
    Author

    Susan Wittig Albert

    Susan Wittig Albert is the New York Times bestselling author of over one hundred books. Her work includes four mystery series: China Bayles, the Darling Dahlias, the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, and the Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries. She has also published three award-winning historical novels as well as YA fiction, memoirs, and nonfiction. She and her husband live in Texas Hill Country, where she writes, gardens, and raises an assortment of barnyard creatures.

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    Reviews for Loving Eleanor

    4/5

    45 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This book was a revelation to me. I’d read other books on Eleanor Roosevelt – long ago – but I don’t recall her relationship with Lorena Hickok. Those books did deal with her life after she had become First Lady where this book starts long before that.Lorena Hickok was a woman far ahead of her times; she was a female reporter who covered real news, not just the content for the style section. She pulled herself out of a very difficult childhood and pushed herself to do very well in what was traditionally a man’s domain. She was, originally against her wishes, assigned to cover Mrs. Roosevelt after Franklin won the race for Governor of New York. Lorena or Hick as she was known felt that the post was “women’s work” and she didn’t want to do it. Little did she know how much the posting would change her life.Eleanor Roosevelt was little prepared to be First Lady of New York but she was a child of privilege and she was reared to do her duty. She preferred to do it quietly and out of the public’s eye and she managed that for the most part. She was a very shy woman. She and Hick entered into a very close relationship and Hick helped Eleanor become comfortable with dealing with the press as Franklin rose from Governor to President.They wrote to each other almost daily – the book is based on their letters which were released to the public in 1998. There are over 3000 letters and they are both diaries of the activities of the First Lady but they also contain some very loving passages that seem to indicate a relationship between the women. Ms. Wittig runs with that relationship giving her reader a very intimate look at a woman who is often remembered as a remarkable First Lady and less as a simple woman.I found myself lost in the book – the history is well detailed and the relationship between the two women is very well developed without being overt. Franklin Roosevelt is not a major player in the book; he appears here and there rather as a Snidely Whiplash kind of set piece. This is Eleanor and Hick’s story. Truth be told – it’s Hick’s story.I found myself researching Lorena Hickok after I finished reading this book because I found her to be such a fascinating woman. I think you would find her interesting too.
    • 5/5
      I was drawn to Susan Wittig Alberts China Bayles novels for a long time before I actually read them. I dismissed them as fluff, and moved on, but not resist going back again and again to read the synopsis and then move on. Finally, I realized that I was prejudging the books, read the first, and then read my way through the series. I eagerly await the new one.In Loving Eleanor, Susan Wittig Albert's writing is the same direct, down to earth and entirely readable kind of story you find in her other books, but this time, Eleanor is a familiar and for some, including me, a beloved figure. This book is a work of fiction, but it is based on some actual events, letters and biographies about this great lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.Loving Eleanor is an unashamed and straightforward telling of the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickock, who started out covering the soon to be First Lady as a journalist, and then fell headlong into a relationship with her. Loving Eleanor was clearly not for the faint of heart, for ER, as she is often referred to in the book, was a strong personality with a strong will and a determination to do what she pleased. It is to the great good fortune of the country that what she wanted benefited many. Her programs were often strongly woman centric, family centric and always approached with passion and strong resolve.Unfortunately for Hick, as Lorena Hickok was called, it was ofter at loggerheads with her great passion, which was Eleanor. This being a novel, it was easy to take historical fact and then imagine what was happening behind the scenes. The author takes full advantage of that, and what we are left with is a book I was unwilling to put down. A book filled with great happiness, as well as heartbreak, betrayal, war, The Great Depression, civil rights injustices, and great love. The love is a thread through the book, and not just the feelings between Hick and ER, but others as well. Both women were strong, passionate and loving.As I flew through the pages, I was familiar with much of this story, having read the Blanche Wiesen Cook biographical series on Eleanor. This takes those books and shines the light of imagination in many of the most intimate places, as well as some of the historical events that we tend to forget. Read this one, really. You won't regret one page or one minute.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely lovely. The narrator read this account very well. Excellent!
    • 5/5
      Loved this fictional portrayal of Lorena Hickok and ER. They have always been two of the women I was fascinated with in that period of history. Courageous women who had to hide who they loved like a lot of us did not that long ago.
    • 4/5
      This is such a well crafted book that the reader can have no doubt that Ms. Albert has completely captured the depth and difficulty of the relationship between Lorena Hickok, an AP reporter and Eleanor Roosevelt. Whether they were very "dear" friends or lovers their story deserved to be told. Perhaps the most interesting and illuminating aspect of this story was the important part Lorena Hickock was to have in the creation of the "persona" of the First Lady. Ms. Albert leaves sufficient room for the reader to contemplate many of the aspects of the female relationships which were "the moons surrounding FDR".
      Thank you Net Galley.
    • 4/5
      [Loving Eleanor] by [[Susan Wittig Albert]] is what I term a factionalized biography. All of the characters, except for three, are real people; the three exceptions are used to either move the plot along or as a way of introducing necessary information. An example of the latter is an up-stairs maid who tells outsiders about the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena "Hicks" Hickok. Witting Albert read the correspondence between the two women as well as researched the time period and people involved. So, although it is fiction it is true to the history of the lives of the two women.The represention of Eleanor as less than confident and reluctant to be the First Lady goes counter to the reputation she has but makes sense when her childhood is examined. The focus in other books I have read, including the mystery series by her son Elliott, is on what she did as First Lady, the weekly women's press conference, her "My Day" newspaper column (both suggested by Hicks), social engagements and community and committee meetings as well as representing her husband, FDR, across the country. In "Loving Eleanor" we see how much being First Lady supresses the real Eleanor or as Hicks expresses it the personage takes over Eleanor the person.FDR's love life extended beyond his marriage and carried on until his death, a woman he had a relationship with dating back to the 1920's was with him when he died. Much less is known about Eleanor's bisexual relationships. At least one author, [[Doris Faber]] was in her words "in something like a classic state of shock" when she went to research a book on Eleanor Roosevelt and discovered the correspondence between Eleanor and Hicks. After attempts to have the material locked away for thirty ot forty more years failed she wrote [The Life of Lorena Hicks], reinterpreting the material and demeaning Hicks and her accomplishments.Hicks was a professional journalist who, in 1928 when she met Eleanor, was the only woman reporter working for the Associated Press in the New York bureau and was covering the Democratic ticket in the 1928 presidential and New York governortorial races, Al Smith for president and Franklin D. Roosevelt for governor. She saw a story in Mrs. Roosevelt and thus it began."Loving Eleanor" presented a new side of Eleanor Roosevelt and introduced Lorena Hickok who was previously just a name to me. It is well researched, well written, interesting and entertaining.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    • 3/5
      This is a very careful and well-researched fictionalized treatment of the love affair between Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena Hickok. It follows their relationship through its passionately romantic beginnings to its more subdued phase as Eleanor is consumed with her role as First Lady and First Lady to the World. Hick was a demanding friend, and comes off as jealous and suffocating until she turns her attention to her own career.As I said, this book is very careful. The author does offer glimpses of documented remarks that are hard to read except as erotic, but she never peers into the bedroom or speculates much beyond what the record will support. She also shows us about Eleanor’s many friendships with clearly lesbian women. I enjoyed learning as much as did about both Eleanor and Hick, but I do wish the novel had been a little more artful. It wore its excellent research on its sleeve.
    • 5/5
      In Loving Eleanor Susan Wittig Albert gives a thoroughly researched fictionalization of the long relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok (Hick). Both women were exceptional and successful and together they seemed to often fill needs in each other that their other relationships could not. The writing and the story are both very good yet it was in the non-sensationalism of the writing that I found the most satisfaction. The fictionalized aspect of the story fills gaps in the known, such as it is, relationship between these women. Albert never crossed the line that would have made me feel like a voyeur, I felt more like a privileged though unknown confidante which allowed the humanity, rather than the celebrity, of the women take hold. It was this quality that made this a five star versus a four star book for me.This novel will appeal to a wide range of readers, from lovers of historical novels to those who like biographical works whether strictly fact-based or with reasonable liberty taken to fill gaps. As one reads the prose will sweep you along and the journey ends too soon.Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      This book was a revelation to me. I’d read other books on Eleanor Roosevelt – long ago – but I don’t recall her relationship with Lorena Hickok. Those books did deal with her life after she had become First Lady where this book starts long before that.Lorena Hickok was a woman far ahead of her times; she was a female reporter who covered real news, not just the content for the style section. She pulled herself out of a very difficult childhood and pushed herself to do very well in what was traditionally a man’s domain. She was, originally against her wishes, assigned to cover Mrs. Roosevelt after Franklin won the race for Governor of New York. Lorena or Hick as she was known felt that the post was “women’s work” and she didn’t want to do it. Little did she know how much the posting would change her life.Eleanor Roosevelt was little prepared to be First Lady of New York but she was a child of privilege and she was reared to do her duty. She preferred to do it quietly and out of the public’s eye and she managed that for the most part. She was a very shy woman. She and Hick entered into a very close relationship and Hick helped Eleanor become comfortable with dealing with the press as Franklin rose from Governor to President.They wrote to each other almost daily – the book is based on their letters which were released to the public in 1998. There are over 3000 letters and they are both diaries of the activities of the First Lady but they also contain some very loving passages that seem to indicate a relationship between the women. Ms. Wittig runs with that relationship giving her reader a very intimate look at a woman who is often remembered as a remarkable First Lady and less as a simple woman.I found myself lost in the book – the history is well detailed and the relationship between the two women is very well developed without being overt. Franklin Roosevelt is not a major player in the book; he appears here and there rather as a Snidely Whiplash kind of set piece. This is Eleanor and Hick’s story. Truth be told – it’s Hick’s story.I found myself researching Lorena Hickok after I finished reading this book because I found her to be such a fascinating woman. I think you would find her interesting too.
    • 5/5
      Before reading Loving Eleanor, I had never heard or remember hearing about Lorena Hickok and I knew very little about Eleanor Roosevelt. Sure I knew she was the wife of the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt but aside from that my knowledge was pretty limited. Loving Eleanor was also the first historical book I had read about Eleanor. Lorena Hickok, a successful journalist when it was not a thing for women to be out on their own working especially in a man's career field. Aside from being a close friend of Eleanor's for all of their lives, she was a journalist working for various newspapers and became very well known. Her friendship with Eleanor developed from an interview that she wrote during FDR's first campaign for president. She lived in the White House for a good portion of FDR's presidencies. She became an investigator for FERA, Federal Relief Administration during FDR's New Deal, traveling the country during the Depression on the living conditions of the people and reporting back to FDR with recommendations on how to improve conditions. Eleanor was also successful in her own right. From being a governor's wife to a reluctant first lady and then during the three full terms that FDR was president, she accomplished a lot. Various charities, volunteering for the Red Cross during WWII, worked on various political campaigns including FDR's, and assistant for the Office for Civilian Defence among other contributions. She also became a prolific author writing books and newspaper columns.Lorena never married as she was a lesbian and this book eludes to the extremely close and intimate relationship with Eleanor. Eleanor and FDR had a marriage in name only as FDR was not a faithful husband and Eleanor developed relationships with men also, anyone whom she could feel close to. This relationship with Lorena lasted the longest. After the death of FDR, they each continued doing what they were passionate about. I was very impressed with the research that went into the writing of this novel, giving the reader a glimpse into the private lives of these two remarkable women and how relationships with people can shape lives. Researched from over 3,000 letters written between Lorena and Eleanor over the span of their lifetimes. I really enjoyed this novel and had a few tears towards the end. I highly recommend reading this book, historical fiction based on fact, if you want to learn more about the FDR years and Eleanor and Lorena.
    • 5/5
      This cover is so, so discreet and perfection of story. Love it.The book is a historical fiction and at first I was struggling with its reading for the first 30 pages, after those the book beautifully wrapped around my mind and I kept on reading. The book tells about Hick's personal life around Mrs Roosevelt and her own journey as a journalist, facing personal changes, facing struggles placed by the president & entire team, and loving Eleanor all her life, trying to do everything for her and beyond, trying to let go and coming back. One may think the book is sad, no, its not, its about journey and wisdom.The author has done research on Mrs Roosevelt's and Ms Lorena Hickok or known as Hick personal letters, as a historical fiction writer has invented and created own interpretations from the letters she has read, but they are so smooth, so perfect for each character, the book is a brilliant read, interesting and as a journey into past that has created a clear picture of that time and what events was taking place in Washington, New York, America in general globally and glimpse of Europe. This book has become one of my favorites.