Eleanor and Hick

Best Books 2016
Harper’s Bazaar, Kirkus, NPR

TV Mini-Series
Announced in Deadline and Variety

Eleanor and HickThe Love Affair That
Shaped a First Lady

Hardcover

Softcover

eBook

In 1932, as her husband assumed the presidency, Eleanor Roosevelt embarked on the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the First Lady with dread. By that time, she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life—now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next thirty years, until Eleanor’s death, the two women carried on an extraordinary relationship: They were, at different points, lovers, confidantes, professional advisors, and caring friends.

They couldn’t have been more different. Eleanor had been raised in one of the nation’s most powerful political families and was introduced to society as a debutante before marrying her distant cousin, Franklin. Hick, as she was known, had grown up poor in rural South Dakota and worked as a servant girl after escaping an abusive home, eventually becoming one of the most respected reporters at the AP. Her admiration drew the buttoned-up Eleanor out of her shell, and the two fell in love. Eleanor confided in Hick about her marital unhappiness; Hick traded her career in journalism for work that brought her closer to the love of her life. For the next thirteen years, Hick had her own room at the White House, next to the First Lady’s.

These fiercely compassionate women inspired each other to right the wrongs of the turbulent era in which they lived. During the Depression, Hick reported from the nation’s poorest areas for the WPA, and Eleanor used these reports to lobby her husband for New Deal programs. Hick encouraged Eleanor to turn their frequent letters into her popular and long-lasting syndicated column, My Day, and to befriend the female journalists who became her champions. When Eleanor’s tenure as First Lady ended with FDR’s death, Hick urged her to continue to use her popularity for important causes—advice Eleanor took by leading the UN’s postwar Human Rights Commission. At every turn, the bond between these two women was grounded in their determination to better their troubled world.

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.

Critical Acclaim

“fascinating and gossipy”
— New York Review of Books
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“Meticulously researched, engagingly written, and emotionally resonant, this is a welcome addition to the Roosevelt book shelf.”
— The Boston Globe
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“a delightful account”
— The Economist
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“the abiding impression of this book is the intricacy of Roosevelt’s intimate life”
— The New Yorker
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“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 2016
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“Quinn brings new depth to their epic, decade-long love story.”
— The New York Post
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“a parallel portrait of two unconventional women caught up in the maelstrom of 20th century politics and world affairs … provides helpful context in this electoral season … when the (male) nominee has belittled a female reporter for (in his words) having 'blood coming out of her wherever.' It's too bad Lorena Hickok isn't still around: She'd have slugged him.”
— Amanda Vaill, New York Times Book Review
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“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. The author’s exploration of Hickok’s journalism and government jobs offers detailed, fascinating human portraits of citizens caught in the grip of an extended financial depression. The benevolent and often daring initiatives of Roosevelt have been copiously documented for decades; Quinn sorts through the massive volume of material, making wise choices about how best to illuminate Roosevelt's character.

A relentlessly captivating study of two remarkable individuals who helped extend the roles of American women in the public policy realm.”
— Kirkus (starred review)
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“an intimate book, tender and wise.”
— Stacy Schiff, Washington Post
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“Fast paced and engaging, this work will enthrall readers of presidential biographies and LGBTQ studies.”
— Library Journal
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“marvelously weaves the lives of these two women together, showing their fierce independence and continual dependence on each other.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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“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
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“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
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“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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“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
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“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
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