Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

This biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt was thoroughly engaging. I'm no historian, and have no idea if Joseph Persico has broken new ground in historical scholarship with this book. He has produced an eminently readable biography of one of our great leaders, viewed from the perspective of his relationships with several remarkable women.

FDR was the over-protected only son of a dominating mother, born into wealth and privilege. The handsome young Franklin surprised almost everyone by choosing to marry his plain and awkward cousin Eleanor. He served the Wilson Administration as Undersecretary of the Navy during WWI, when the 36 year old husband and father of five fell in love with the beautiful Miss Lucy Mercer, his wife's social secretary.

Eleanor discovered the affair and it changed her world forever, although the marriage survived. Despite his promises to Eleanor FDR did not cut off all communications with Lucy, who married a wealthy widower and by all accounts was a devoted and loving wife, stepmother, and mother.

I think that in some ways the title is less accurate than the subtitle, because Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd remains a more shadowy figure in this book than most of the other remarkable women in FDR's closest circle. Persico portrays Lucy as possessing from first to last a nearly mystical aura, an ability to quietly charm everyone she met, and a depth of character. There was clearly a deep and lifelong connection between Lucy and FDR.

Persico brings compassion and respect to all the characters here: the complex FDR, his equally complex wife Eleanor, his beautiful and dominant mother Sara, and the other women who moved in and out of his orbit including Lucy, FDR's devoted aide Missy LeHand, his daughter Anna, and his cousins Daisy and Polly. When I reached the end of this book I felt I not only knew more about FDR and Eleanor, but had come to know a handful of other women who shared FDR's journey through this world.

Other bibliophiles may recognize this situation: there comes a point in some books when you just have to accept the fact that you are not going to bed until you finish. I can count on my fingers the number of times that has happened to me. Obviously different books for different people but FDR, along with Churchill, are stellar examples of leaders to me and I enjoy learning more about them.

I have read several other books by Joseph Persico, most notably Roosevelt's Secret War. The content of Franklin and Lucy was almost entirely new to me. I came away with a totally different, much more intimate, portrait of Franklin and Eleanor. I have to admit I have not read much biographical information on either of them. I now await several biographies of both Roosevelts.

Franklin and Lucy studies the women in his life, from his mother Sara to Eleanor, Lucy Rutherford, Missy LeHand and various other cousins and admirers. The most in-depth background information is on Eleanor, Sara and Lucy - the three women who had the most profound effect on FDR. Both Sara and Eleanor were products of the Victorian era. Sara, being older, was never able to rise above the Victorian mores of her time and social set. As both Sara and Franklin almost perished during his birth, she never had another child and Franklin was doted on as a companion, one she loathed to relinquish, and treated as her obedient son even when he occupied the White House. It seems apparent that this early pattern gave Franklin the need he always seemed to have for feminine approval and admiration.

At the turn of the century the "400" more or less ruled society, industry and government. Their standards for acceptance were shallow, including good looks, inherited wealth, correct breeding etc. It was frowned upon in this group to work hard for grades in school which somewhat explains FDR's rather poor showing as a "C" student.

Sara had inherited wealth as well as the standards of her time and, as FDR was an only child, she spoiled him badly. Her wealth provided him with residences beginning with a 'Gold Coast' apartment at Harvard, decorated by her, to side by side townhouses after his marriage to Eleanor. Sara appears to have been not particularly intelligent or imaginative. When she purchased the side by side housing arrangement she had doors cut between the two residences, allowing her to 'pop in' at will. Thus the stage was set for a battle of wills that Eleanor was ill-equipped to win. Apparently Sara was never able to see the wrongness of her control over both Eleanor and Franklin. She was also a bad third court of appeal when the children began to grow up. Their parents might decide one thing but they could turn to Granny who would immediately favor them with a happier outcome. Thus she undermined the parenting of both Eleanor and Franklin.

Eleanor was also a product of Victorian mores albeit in a far more draconian way than Sara. She, however, was a more intelligent and curious woman than her mother-in-law. Eleanor was orphaned at an early age and sent with her brother to live with her grandmother. Her childhood was Dickensian to say the least. Eleanor was not blessed with beauty and, in a family known for attractive women, she was cruelly reminded of her uselessness by everyone from her mother to cousin Alice. I have never seen the use of these sort of people but the deliberate cruelty to one of their own family is despicable. Young women of Eleanor's generation learned nothing of sex or sexuality and to quote one of her cousins "The 'purebred' New England woman, when she finally married, knew her duty, lay on her bed, and murmured to herself, as the husband approached, 'for God, for country and for Yale.'" Such was the likely state of Eleanor's knowledge as she approached the marriage bed. Everyone knows how Eleanor subsequently turned out. Knowing the deprivations of her childhood and her lack of self esteem it is easy to understand why she became a champion of so many underdogs. Eleanor as she matured was able to step away from the prejudices of her time - be they religious, racial, gender or class. What is not commonly known is the immediate impetus for her maturity. This lies in the story of Lucy Rutherford and Franklin's affair which she discovered accidentally in 1918.

Lucy was another Victorian era child whose monetary fortune did not fare as well as Eleanor and Franklin's. Descended from wealth, Lucy's worthless parents had impoverished themselves by the time she was a young woman. Forced to do something to keep a roof over their heads, Lucy took a job as Eleanor's secretary. The rest is history and you should read the book to find out the details. I had never heard of Lucy Rutherford prior to this book and, after the affair was discovered, it was assumed she left FDR's life. Letters recently discovered by some of her descendants have shown this to be untrue and were the impetus for the book. Lucy was an necessary part of FDR's life up until the moment of his death. She was at his side, rather than Eleanor, when that moment came.

Persico does an excellent job of providing the information which allows you to see how Sara's early influence on Franklin made it always essential that he have women around to listen to and admire him; women who did not demand anything of him. Eleanor was a dynamo and unable to do this. Rather, she was always asking things of him - altruistic things - but demanding nonetheless. After he became President, Eleanor was unable to appreciate that, in order to cope with the pressures he was handling, he sometimes just needed a short time to do nothing. That was when Eleanor would descend on him with projects. All this made his time with Lucy the more precious. Lucy had the gift of gracious listening so necessary to a man leading his country into a devastating war. During those years she was more essential than ever to FDR.

Persico makes a few comments on the morality of FDR's liaisons but, like me, he is not judgmental. He quotes Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. at the end of the book (If Lucy Mercer) "in any way helped Franklin Roosevelt sustain the frightful burdens of leadership in the second world war, the nation has good reason to be grateful to her." I certainly am. I am grateful to Joseph Persico as well for writing such a compelling book. It will not be published until the end of this month (April). If you are a history fan you will want to read this one.

The marriage of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt has been written about by countless authors. Eleanor's discovery of a cache of love letters between FDR and Lucy Mercer changed the dynamics of the Roosevelt's entire marriage. FDR promised he would cut off all ties with Lucy, and Eleanor had no reason to doubt that promise until FDR's death, when it was revealed he and Lucy had eventually resumed their friendship, if not the physical aspect as well. Lucy had been present in Warm Springs when FDR died. Joseph E. Persico reveals the dynamics of a relationship between FDR and Lucy Mercer. Even after her marriage to a wealthy socialite, she is drawn back into FDR's orbit and eventually becomes a regular visitor of the president. Perisco draws a portrait of FDR as a lonely man who often was without company or companionship, as his wife and children moved onto lives of their own. He turned to friends and associates to fill the void of a marriage no longer alive. A series of women came into his life to act as a stand-in wife and confidant. As his burdens become heavier and his health becomes frailer he turns back to Lucy, who has always tried to buoy his sprits and seldom condemns or complains. After her husband's death she is more and more in his company bringing comfort, encouragement and admiration. This is a fair depiction of people caught up in the mores and restrictions of their time and society. It is also is a tender and unflinching look at a marriage and subsequent relationships that both partners forge to meet their needs.

I found this book to be an absolutely fascinating look at the Roosevelts through the prism of the women (and men) that went through their lives throughout their marriage. While I had known a little about Eleanor's early life due to a YA biography I had read ages ago, it was interesting to get the contrast with FDR's early life, and to see how it truly did shape them in terms of their future selves. I only wish that the book could have been longer, as I just found myself wanting to know more about these fascinating people.

It was curiosity that made me choose this book. FDR has always been a foggy historical figure in my mind. I couldn't have said more than that he was president and that he created the New Deal. I was delightfully surprised to find this an engrossing biography of a fascinating human being and the equally fascinating women in his life. He was so much more alive and vibrant than I realized.

I probably learned more about FDR's sex life than I cared to know, though it's no competition, in the writing, for a modern novel. Persico gives that information to help complete the portrait of the man. I appreciated that he would make statements to the effect of We can't know for certain what went on behind closed doors, when pointing out logical speculation.

The primary focus of the book is, as the title suggests, about FDR's affair with Lucy Rutherfurd. While I can't go so far as to condone his affairs, by the end of the book, I'm aware of enough to see FDR as human and to understand him better. Of all the women described in the book, I felt that Lucy perhaps was the most elusive, however. The perspective is more of how this love affair affected the life, marriage and politics of FDR.

The woman most clearly presented, not surprisingly, is Eleanor Roosevelt. I knew only a little more about her than about FDR, prior to reading this book. For the first time I see her as a woman, a human being, rather than just a social figure. Although I came to understand FDR, I felt most for Eleanor (which may or may not be simple gender identification). The tensions and problems in their marriage were as much her fault as his and any blame comes out so equally that, even though I feel most for her, I can't dislike Franklin, Lucy or any of the other women mentioned. His mother, who tried to be far too involved in his personal life, marriage and even politics (the one area in which she seemed to have the least direct impact) was easier to dislike, but even she was not totally unlikable.

This book left me with a desire to read more. I want to know more about Eleanor Roosevelt and more about the first half of the 20th century. I may or may not look specifically for books about FDR, but I certainly won't think "boring" the next time I see one.

Being an admirer of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and having visited Hyde Park a few times I found this book insightful and fascinating. Do not read this for a political biography (instead try Conrad Black's monumental biography of Franklin Roosevelt). Mr. Persico tells of the warmth of F.D.R. in his relationships with the diverse women in his life - his mother Sara, Eleanor and his `possible' extra-marital relationships with Lucy Mercer and Marguerite (Missy) LeHand.

With Lucy Mercer he had a clandestine relationship that lasted from 1917 until his death in 1945. Even though Eleanor discovered this relationship in 1919 and forbade him to ever see Lucy Mercer again, using the threat of divorce - F.D.R. and Lucy continued seeing each other. It must be remembered that both the above women became friends with F.D.R. long before he became President. In the case of Missy Lehand it was after he became paralyzed with polio. This attests to the magnetism of F.D.R.'s personality that he was able to attract such a wide range of men and women. It is also shows the strength of F.D.R. that most people in his condition would not be inclined to become President - and to be President for four consecutive terms - such was the courage of the man.

Mr. Persico portrays Lucy Mercer as a devoted friend of F.D.R. during all these years. She was able to be a companion without making demands on him. F.D.R. knew how to relax at the end of a Presidential day and there were times when Eleanor would not let him do that. Lucy Mercer and Missy could fulfill that role - like Franklin, they enjoyed laughter and small-talk

Even though the book is entitled `Franklin and Lucy' - there is more on Eleanor's personality then Lucy's. It is intriguing how this married couple gave themselves such latitude to each continue and grow in their lives. Franklin gave Eleanor funds to build her own home in Hyde Park where she entertained her own diverse friends. She also traveled extensively through-out the U.S. and the free world. Compare Franklin's treatment of his entourage with the way Stalin and Hitler, in the same period, treated their friends and family. It should always be remembered that the leader of the democracies was such a tolerant and accepting person.

Perhaps Sara (Franklin's mother), gets somewhat of a bad rap - after all she cared for and actively help raise the five children of Franklin and Eleanor (neither of whom were the most devoted and competent of parents). Without Sara's continued support throughout their stormy marriage and then Franklin's subsequent paralysis it is doubtful that he would have become President.

The best words on the Roosevelt marriage were by Daisy Suckley - to quote from the book (p. 345) - "That fact that they could not relax together...is the tragedy of their joint lives, for I believe,... that they had everything else in common...They were both remarkable people - sky high above the average".

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Persico presents lush biographical details about one of America's most enigmatic couples. I felt completely swept away by the intimate details presented and could not put the book down until I finished. This is a very different portrait of the Roosevelts than I have ever read. Very impressed with the scholarship and research that went into this work. My only criticism is that at times there was more than enough expositing of the details of daily life among members of the Roosevelts' social class; this became a bit tiring later on. ***This review is of the Advanced Reader's Copy of the book, which may differ from for sale editions.***