The First Ladies
The First Ladies is a riveting look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s political rise to First Lady and her eyebrow-raising friendship with civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. From their first awkward meeting at a national luncheon for the heads of women’s clubs in 1927 to the joyous day the two unite to vote for the Charter of United Nations in June 1945, authors Benedict and Murray are successful in capturing the emotional connection between these two impactful women.
Through alternating points of view, readers come to know Eleanor and Mary as their relationship blossoms. Mary, born of enslaved parents, became a supporter of education, a builder of schools and hospitals. A calm, understated, burning desire is exposed in Mary, showing her indelible spirit and confidence as she gets well-known businessmen to serve on boards and contribute to her causes. Meanwhile, readers are provided with a detailed historical background leading to Eleanor becoming the First Lady. By 1927, Eleanor’s painful memories of Franklin’s affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer, have the couple unified only in beliefs. Taking a tactful and delicate approach to Eleanor’s relationship with a female journalist, the authors portray her as unlike any other First Lady.
Historic and political events are recounted as the memories of the “first ladies” are used to fill in background. Readers experience Mary’s pain in racially explosive situations and will appreciate her ultimate poise and absolute pride in her beliefs. The scene of Eleanor and Mary at Tuskegee Army Airfield highlighting the discrimination against Blacks in the military, though hypothetical, is superb and the outcome rewarding. The concluding historical notes are informative and supportive of this extraordinary partnership.
The women’s friendship helped form the foundation for the modern civil rights movement. Historically illuminating; recommended to fans of The Personal Librarian by Benedict and Murray.
