Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Journalist Peyser and educator Dwyer serve up a dual biography of the two most well-known women of the extended Roosevelt clan with a glaze of snark. Alice, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, is portrayed as sarcastic and spoiled; Eleanor, wife of Franklin Roosevelt, as unattractive and awkward. The women were close as children but grew apart as adults, due to their very different personalities and very different politics. The authors assert that the disagreements between Alice and Eleanor reflect the great American debates of the 20th Century: internationalism vs. isolationism, war vs. peace, large federal government vs. small. Alice married Ohio Republican congressman Nicholas Longworth in 1906 as much for his wealth as his political reputation, believing she could help him to the White House. Eleanor’s political life didn’t begin until after her 1905 marriage to Franklin; as a dutiful wife she figured out effective ways to support and promote his career. The authors ably present these events, but are on shakier ground with the gender issues that informed these great American debates and shaped these women’s lives. Readers interested in a more historically substantive portrayal of the two women should look to the work of Blanche Wiesen Cook and Stacy Cordery. [em](Apr.) [/em]