The Yankee Sphinx

Frost (Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier) delivers an immersive if underwhelming novel of President Franklin Roosevelt as seen through the eyes of one of the lesser-known members of his staff. In 1934, journalist Bill Hassett, a friend of the president, is invited to the Oval Office, and they begin a long-running working relationship, with Hassett serving as speechwriter and confidant. From the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 through early 1945, Hassett watches as Roosevelt makes war plans with his closest adviser, Harry Hopkins, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, going back and forth between these two imposing men to organize a military alliance against Germany and Japan. The author also brings into focus lesser-known figures like Roosevelt’s daughter, Anna, who helps Hassett deal with her father’s secret health problems; and Lucy Mercer, whose on-again, off-again romance with FDR continues until his death. Based on Hassett’s diaries, the novel takes readers inside FDR’s inner circle, but there is nothing revelatory or especially dramatic in the depiction of these well-known events. It’s a curious project, one that evokes FDR’s sphinxlike quality without going much deeper. Agent: Jay Mandel, WME. (May)