I never knew this, nor did I expect him to be so ruthless. The real shocker, at least for me, is Bloom’s portrayal of FDR, who is shown as a serial womaniser.

The implication is that her humanitarianism arises from not only her generous nature, but also her sense of her own circumscribed life.īloom gives Hick a plausible and compelling voice as the reader’s own inside reporter, letting us know what life in the White House felt like.

Eleanor, from a wealthy and sheltered background, is attracted to Hick’s tales. There she met Gerry, “Brother and Sister in One Body”, who may be truly intersex and may be faking it, and who notices that Hick is more attracted to his female side. Hick is a compelling narrator she tells the reader a few things that she doesn’t tell Eleanor, including that her sexual awakening came when she was working for a travelling circus. She is also deeply in love with Eleanor Roosevelt, who reciprocates her love when she can, though she is beset by many distractions, including her unpleasant children, her faithless husband and her predilection for always doing the moral and generous thing. Hickok, known as “Hick”, is a smart, self-made newspaper reporter raised by a cruel and sexually abusive father in Nebraska. What she finds there is rank corruption and plenty of paradoxes, some of which resonate with the world we live in now and some of which do not.īloom’s novel is short, but dense and affecting. I’m certainly cannot reveal so much details about it because each chapter offer us a new sort of perspective about lesbianism at that time and even how a society pulverize it.A my Bloom’s new novel uses the power of gossip to get inside the Roosevelt White House through the character of Lorena Hickok, real-life aide and close companion to Eleanor Roosevelt.

White Houses brings the unknown story about an affair between the former FLOTUS with the celebrated journalist Lorena Hickok whose passionate relationship with the idealistic, patrician First Lady would shape the rest of their lives.

Like never before, I completely forgot to write my comments about a book reading around August and related with the former FLOTUS, Eleanor Roosevelt.Īs I remembered, Eleanor Roosevelt fulfilled an enormous task during FDR administration which takes 3 and a half year because her continuous reelection thanks for his domestic and international policies but, what about ER during FDR administration? Is it true that her relationship was eclipsed by a FDR affair with other women? Finally, some comments bring an unknown person to the life of Eleanor whose brings her happiness and comfort for some period.

Amy bloom eleanor roosevelt