Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life [Hardcover]

Joseph E. Persico (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2008

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the greatest figure of the twentieth century. While FDR’s official circle was predominantly male, it was his relationships with women–particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd–that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman. It is no coincidence that Rutherfurd was with Roosevelt the day he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, along with two other close women companions. In Franklin and Lucy, acclaimed author and historian Joseph E. Persico explores FDR’s romance with Lucy Rutherfurd, which was far deeper and lasted much longer than was previously acknowledged. Persico’s provocative conclusions about their relationship are informed by a revealing range of sources, including never-before-published letters and documents from Lucy Rutherfurd’s estate that attest to the intensity and scope of the affair.

FDR’s connection with Lucy also creates an opportunity for Persico to take a more penetrating look at the other women in FDR’s life. We come to see more clearly how FDR’s infidelity as a husband contributed to Eleanor’s eventual transformation from a repressed Victorian to perhaps the greatest American woman of her century; how the shaping hand of FDR’s strong-willed mother helped to imbue him with the resolve to overcome personal and public adversity throughout his life; and how other women around FDR, including his “surrogate spouse,” Missy LeHand, and his close confidante, the obscure Margaret “Daisy” Suckley, completed the world that he inhabited.

Franklin and Lucy is an extraordinary look at the private life of a leader who continues to fascinate scholars and the general public alike. In focusing on Lucy Rutherfurd and the myriad women who mattered to Roosevelt, Persico paints a more intimate portrait than we have heretofore had of this enigmatic giant of American history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Persico (Roosevelt's Secret War) engagingly and eloquently narrates the tangled relationships between Franklin and the various women to whom he became close, including his mother; his wife; Lucy Mercer (the young Eleanor Roosevelt's social secretary during WWI and later Mrs. Winthrop Rutherford); his longtime secretary, Missy LeHand; and his distant cousin Margaret (Daisy) Suckley. These relationships have been examined before; the major revelation of the volume—backed up by documents recently discovered by Mercer's descendants—is that her relationship with FDR continued throughout his life, even after it was supposedly ended by Franklin at the demand of his mother, who threatened to cut off both his income and his inheritance were he to leave his wife and family. (Previously, it was believed that FDR's relationship with Mercer only rekindled once Franklin's mother died, at the very end of his own life.) Another intriguing aspect of the book is Persico's informed speculation on how Franklin's frequently nonchalant womanizing affected Eleanor, who appears, quite possibly, to have pursued several relationships of her own, both hetero- and homosexual. In sum, Persico offers what will prove an important, lasting addition to the literature of the Roosevelts. (Apr. 29)
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Review

“Just when you thought you knew everything about Franklin D. Roosevelt, think again. Joseph E. Persico [is] one of America’s finest historians. . . . You can’t properly understand FDR the man without reading this landmark study.”—Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University

“Persico’s exploration of FDR’s emotional life is fascinating.”—USA Today

“Persico is judicious in his treatment of these sensitive matters. . . . He understands that Lucy Mercer helped FDR awaken his capacity for love and compassion, and thus helped him become the man to whom the nation will be eternally in debt.”—Washington Post Book World

“A stylish and well-written book filled with interesting characters, marital dramas and spylike subterfuge.”—Chicago Tribune

“A powerful narrative that rarely fails to pull you along to the next chapter. ”—Louisville Courier-Journal

“Utterly absorbing.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400064422
• ISBN-13: 978-1400064427
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.3 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Woman's View of the Intimate Roosevelt, August 6, 2008

By 

David M. Dougherty (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life (Hardcover)

Having read but a single work by author Persico prior to this (Piercing The Reich), I was unsure of what to expect in a book ostensiby about a man and his relationships with women. Having read a number of books on Roosevelt describing his disingenuous, Byzantine, unforthcoming dealings with men, I was not surprised that he ran true to form with women. However, this book broke some new ground.

First and foremost was the particular stress on FDR's being crippled and unable to walk and how that worked out to be both a hindrance and a blessing. Here the narrative was extremely productive.

Second, this book discusses FDR and his female entourage from the point of view of a very sympathetic woman. One wonders if this book was actually written by Persico or by his wife or daughter. For example, considered this discourse on page 246: "Schiff's fascination with FDR further displayed the superiority of women in their attitude toward men in that they consider the whole man, his intelligence, power, (wealth??) humor, and charm as producing attractiveness, not simply physical appeal, an approach that cannot always be said of male attitudes toward women." Wow! Who wrote this? Gloria Steinem?

Nonetheless, this books brings together FDR's relationships with those women close to him into fascinating focus with but a passing mention of the world around them. Persico presents the facts carefully, particularly when it comes to "Did they or didn't they?" -- very much in line with the motto of Fox News; "We report -- You decide." Sometimes he begins to moralize as "... Missy was all to ready to ....", but then draws back without passing judgment. I liked that.

There are two negatives in my opinion: a number of facts and dates are incorrect, and he fails to draw a sufficiently complete portrait of Missy LeHand, Lucy Mercer, Daisy Suckley or Dorothy Schiff for the reader to fully relate to them. These were all actresses with staring roles yet their characters remained clouded in mystery. Perhaps he ran out of time, perhaps out of sources. In these cases he needed to indicate where the reader should go to draw in the missing lines.

In this book FDR is truly as Holmes said; "A second class intellect [with] a first class temperament." Eleanor, the lady who loved the Tartars but not herself is summed up by, "...[she had] great compassion for the masses... but not much interest in the individual."

All in all, a valuable read.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Insights Marred by Shoddy Fact Checking, July 22, 2008

By 

Hank Drake (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life (Hardcover)

Biography is a form of archeology. Over 60 years after Franklin Roosevelt's death, new information is still coming to light, including recently discovered correspondence with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd. Persico, who authored the superb "Roosevelt's Secret War", uses this and previously discovered documents (including the diary of Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, FDR's cousin) to draw a portrait of a man whose Byzantine personality has baffled researchers and biographers for decades. FDR preferred the presence of women over men, not only romantically but for ordinary company. Perhaps because with women, he did not feel the need to prove anything, perhaps because he loved gossip, FDR revealed himself and the workings of his mind more to women than to men. Previous biographers have referred to the sinuosity of FDR's thought process and his "feminine" mind (this is not meant as an aspersion against his essential masculinity, but reflects a flexibility of which many men are not capable). Persico reveals much of that by detailing his relationships with several women, including his mother Sara, Eleanor, Lucy (truly the love of his life), Missy LeHand, Daisy Suckley, Dorothy Schiff, and his daughter Anna. He also details Eleanor's relationships with Earl Miller, Lorena Hickok, and David Gurewitsch (the latter a younger doctor on whom Eleanor had something of a schoolgirl crush on during her later life.) Persico is impartial, and neither tries to obfuscate nor sensationalize the nature of these relationships. He presents the facts as they are and lets the reader draw the conclusions.

Now the bad news...

There are so many factual errors in this book it's hard to keep track of them, errors which could have been easily avoided with some quick fact checking. Persico refers to FDR's half-nephew, James "Taddy" Roosevelt, as Sara Roosevelt's stepson - - he was her step-grandson while Taddy's father, James "Rosy" Roosevelt was her stepson. He states that Eleanor suffered a case of hives during her honeymoon - - it was FDR who came down with hives. FDR's second inauguration is stated as having occurred on March 4, 1937, it took place on January 20 of that year - - the first January inauguration to happen after passage of the 20th Amendment. (Persico repeats the error with the 1941 inauguration, claiming that as the first January inauguration). Persico also misstates the circumstances under which Harry Truman learned that FDR was dead and Truman was President. Most of the above are so well documented it's hard to fathom how these mistakes were missed. Well, perhaps not: In the acknowledgements, Persico credits his wife and daughter as research assistants. But an impartial, unrelated editor, might have caught these errors.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting view of FDR, May 27, 2008

By 

Cecelia E Connally (Cleveland, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life (Hardcover)

Joseph Persico presents a very interesting picture of FDR in FRANKLIN AND LUCY. Except for newly released letters from the estate of Lucy Mercer Rutherford there is not a whole lot new or revealing to the well known story about FDR's romantic relationships. His theme is essentially FDR's relationship with various women, including Eleanor, and how you can see his personality based on these relationship. The book is also revealing has to his relationship with Eleanor, but there is essentially nothing new. As a person who has always been a fan of FDR, the book gives a darker side of the man. Although he promised Eleanor he would never have any further contact with Lucy, Persico presents good evidence that they stayed in contact over the years. The resulting conclusion being that he never kept his promise to Eleanor and raises the question of how FDR should be judged as a man, a husband and a leader. Although I was well aware of his relationship with Missy Lehand, Persico emphasizes how FDR distanced himself from Missy when she fell ill. Although he made provisions for her in his will and obviously cared for her, he could not deal with a disabled Missy.

I thought that Persico's description of FDR's relationship with Dorothy Schiff was the weakest of the relationships covered.

Generally I thought this work was well done and a very interesting read. There are numerous bios of FDR and cover many aspects of his life. Persico sets out to deal with this one aspect of FDR's life and accomplishes that task.

The contemporary reader can only go away marveling at a world where the President could stop his train and have reporters waiting for hours while he lunched with a women he was formerly involved with and never make a comment and how a President could stand for re-election has FDR did in 1944 in such poor health. But therein lies the value of reading history. And of course the ultimate question is how history would have been changed if FDR and given into to his heart ahead of his political career and left Eleanor and married Lucy. Such are only questions for speculation.