Synopses & Reviews
Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the most admired women of this century. Revered throughout the world, she was known as First Lady, as chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and as standard-bearer for the causes she espoused. During the last ten years of this singular woman's life, William Turner Levy had the good fortune to become a close friend. Over time, he became closely acquainted with the fun-loving, intelligent, and vibrant woman who lay behind the public persona. With affection and humor, he recalls their memorable friendship.
In 1953, William Turner Levy, then a young Episcopalian priest and teacher of English literature at the City College of New York, wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt seeking more information about memorabilia he had purchased from the collection of the late President Roosevelt. She responded with an invitation to tea. From that first encounter sprang a close, loving friendship and countless shared moments, often in Hyde Park at her beloved, cozy Val-Kill Cottage. After Eleanor Roosevelt's death, William Turner Levy—as was her wish—led the services at the church and gravesite.
Through fascinating anecdotes, many of them totally fresh, Levy gives us an intimate look at informal, yet important meetings Eleanor Roosevelt had with global leaders, artists, and politicians, and we gain valuable insights into the way she viewed the world. And with the help of historian Cynthia Eagle Russett, we also see Eleanor Roosevelt's role in shaping American and international politics. But most rewarding are the many recollections that are full of flashes of her personality and the delicious domestic touches that bring Mrs. R fully alive. With William Turner Levy's help, we gain a cherished glimpse of the extraordinary Mrs. R—as if she were our friend, too.
Eleanor Roosevelt will always be remembered for her remarkable achievements as First Lady, United Nations official, and passionate advocate for the wide range of causes she held close to her heart. Now William Turner Levy gives us a joyful perspective on the private life and personality of the extraordinary Mrs. R.
Father William Turner Levy's The Extraordinary Mrs. R evokes Tuesdays with Morrie. Everyone interested in Eleanor Roosevelt and human alternatives for the future will want to read this lovely, loving memoir. —Blanche Wiesen Cook, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Eleanor Roosevelt 1884?1933, Vol. I
An enchanting portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt in all her human dimensions, compassionate, familial, political, worldly, with fascinating anecdotes of the people she knew and loved—not the least FDR.—James MacGregor Burns, Pulitzer Prize—winning biographer of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Synopsis
"[Levy's] recollections are delightful, loving, and unique."-New York Times
"A lovely, loving memoir."-Blanche Wiesen Cook, Winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize for Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884--1933, Vol. 1
"[A] loving remembrance."-Kirkus Reviews
One of the most admired women of the twentieth century, Eleanor Roosevelt will always be remembered for her remarkable achievements as First Lady, United Nations official, and passionate advocate for the causes she held close to her heart. Now, through fascinating anecdotes, many of them totally fresh, William Turner Levy-a close friend of the former First Lady-gives us an intimate look at Eleanor Roosevelt and the way she viewed the world. And with the help of acclaimed historian Cynthia Eagle Russett, we also see Eleanor Roosevelt's role in shaping American and international politics. In this rare book, we gain a cherished glimpse of the extraordinary Mrs. R-as if she were our friend, too. An enchanting portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt in all her human dimensions-with fascinating anecdotes of the people she knew and loved-this refreshing and affectionate memoir reveals the fun-loving, intelligent, and vibrant woman behind the public persona.
About the Author
William Turner Levy taught literature at the City College and the City University of New York for thirty years. He has taught for the past nineteen years at the Viewpoint School in Calabasas, California, where he is Provost. He is coauthor of Affectionately, T. S. Eliot: The Story of a Friendship, 1947?1965. He lives in Canoga Park, California.
Cynthia Eagle Russett is professor of history at Yale University, specializing in American cultural and women's history. Author of Sexual Science: The Victorian Construction of Womanhood, she was cowinner of the 1989 Berkshire Conference of Women Historians Book Award. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
Table of Contents
An Invitation to Tea.
Mrs. Roosevelt Comes to Dine.
At Home in New York City.
At Hyde Park.
First Lady of the World.
The World Comes to Call.
A Fondness for Young People.
Celebrations...and Memories.
Discovering Mrs. Roosevelt.
Discovering FDR.
Always a Democrat.
Friendship.
Saying Good-bye.
Index.