You are looking at Bossy’s current obsession, No Ordinary Time, a historical doorstop written by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
This Pulitzer Prize winning biography chronicles Franklin Roosevelt‘s years as president, spanning the period just prior to and including the United States’ involvement in World War ll.
But more than that, this glimpse into the era is a human interest story like any other, and it got Bossy thinking about how this tale would be told if the events took place now.
To help with that task, Bossy turned to Facebook.
You see, this was Franklin Roosevelt:
Franklin Roosevelt was a strong athletic man with an air of confidence and can-do charisma that stemmed from a sheltered, privileged upbringing. Partially responsible for shielding Franklin Roosevelt from distress or failure was his mother, Sara Delano:
Sara Delano married James Roosevelt who was recently widowed and nearly thirty years her senior. They had only one child, Franklin, due to a scare during childbirth. Her presence as a mother was always domineering, and Franklin learned it was easier to be stoic and keep his true emotions and thoughts hidden from general scrutiny.
For instance, when Franklin fell in love with his distant cousin, his mother wouldn’t know about it until the young couple announced their engagement. And the woman Franklin fell in love with was Anna Eleanor:
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, or Eleanor as she was called, was unlike any other woman Franklin had ever known, in all her guileless brilliance. Both Franklin and Eleanor had emerged from well-to-do-backgrounds but had a special commitment to social responsibility. They forged a partnership both at home — raising five children — and professionally, with Eleanor acting as Franklin’s trusted confidante and advisor as he rose up the political ranks.
Eleanor was happy in her role as wife and mother. It allowed her to escape the great sadness she felt in her childhood, most of which stemmed from an alcoholic father who was a colossal failure compared to his brother, President of the United States, Teddy Roosevelt. In addition the always gawky and awkward and gangly and lanky Eleanor felt she could never measure up to the extreme beauty of her high society mother, Anna Hall:
Subject to fits of depression, everything in Eleanor’s adult life was going swimmingly until Eleanor discovered letters that proved Franklin was having an affair with her own social secretary, Lucy Mercer:
Eleanor was so devastated by her husband’s betrayal that she decided to stop having the sex she never wanted to have in the first place. For the rest of their married life, Franklin and Eleanor would sleep in separate bedrooms.
And speaking of things going swimmingly, it was in a lake, just a few years later, that the always virile Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio at the age of 39. In constant denial regarding his paralysis, Franklin received daily physical therapy and for a time retreated to Warm Springs, Georgia, where the mineral springs were known for their restorative power.
But Franklin didn’t recuperate in Georgia alone. No. By Franklin’s side was his near constant companion, his secretary Margaret Alice:
Marguerite Alice “Missy” Lehand was wildly in love with her boss. Having never married, she not only acted as secretary to the President, but devoted herself to fulfilling all the duties of a wife, like entertaining. Entertaining Franklin.
Eleanor was well aware of Missy’s constant companionship and supported her relationship with Eleanor’s husband since Eleanor herself was busy representing Franklin’s political platform across the country, being the more able-bodied presence compared to her husband, who never went out in public in the wheelchair he needed almost constantly.
But Eleanor didn’t mind her autonomous role as Franklin’s go-to guy, because Eleanor had a go-to guy of her own. And that go-to guy was a woman. Lorena Alice:
Lorena Alice Hickok was a journalist who met Eleanor at the Democratic National Committee headquarters where she was researching a story. The two forged an immediate friendship, where friendship equals they sent each other love letters.
And it was this cast of characters who, among a nation of others, were responding to Hitler’s march across Europe, leaving a swath of destruction behind him.
Will Franklin Roosevelt lead his country into war? Will he sleep with his secretary Missy? Will Missy have an emotional breakdown when she finds out Franklin was elected for a third term? Will Eleanor put her tiresome mother-in-law Sara in her place?
Stay tuned for Part Two as Bossy forges her way through more of the book. That is, if Bossy doesn’t contract polio from lifting the thing.
Maggie May says
September 19, 2011 at 2:52 amDude. If you are loving this book you have to read the Eleanor Roosevelt biography series- there are three- but the first is my favorite. They are SO GOOD.
corrie says
September 19, 2011 at 8:58 amI hope Doris herself sees your very funny post! ( I love Doris’ work too !)
WebSavvyMom says
September 19, 2011 at 9:15 am–>I hope my name doesn’t show up in part 2 of this Bossy series. I may need to change my FB profile picture just in case.
Mary Steele Lawler says
September 19, 2011 at 9:54 amWow! I have learned so much about history and This Great Country of ours today…just while drinking coffee in front of my computer. Keep the facts coming, Bossy–you make my day!
BossysMom says
September 19, 2011 at 10:53 amHBO is nuts if they don’t jump on the “Roosevelt Story” with this cast of characters….
TOO great….
Shannon says
September 19, 2011 at 11:58 amI second Maggie Mays comment. The Eleanor Biographies are VERY well written and have a lot of Eleanor and Lorena’s private letters.
kathy says
September 19, 2011 at 12:18 pmA really great book!
jeannie says
September 19, 2011 at 3:51 pmI have also meant to read that book. So, another one I always looked at and thought, “I want to read that,” is Katharine Graham’s Personal History. Like ‘No Ordinary Time’ for you, I have lived in that book for the past three weeks, and have loved it obsessively in the same way you feel about yours. So: read Personal History! You will love it. I will read No Ordinary Time just as soon as I’m done with The Late Shift (about Carson, Leno, Letterman…). I finished Personal History yesterday and it too won a Pulitzer Prize.
Oh and very clever Facebook analogies!
Mr Farty says
September 19, 2011 at 5:22 pmI learned all my American history from reading Bossy’s blog. Why do I feel uneasy about this?
Teeny Tina says
September 19, 2011 at 6:22 pmLOL. That bright red comma is a little bit of artistic embellishment I see. Brilliant history lesson, and entertaining 🙂
Meg at the Members Lounge says
September 19, 2011 at 6:36 pmI love playing social networking with historical figures. I like to imagine the Greek Gods tweeting, myself.
Olivia says
September 19, 2011 at 7:01 pmHoly Cow!! Olivia wonders why Canadians don’t have such interesting politicians – we are so boring. Right now she is watching a TV show on Sir John A. MacDonald, our first prime minister, and she HOPES that there is something kinky or scandalous going on . . . but she highly doubts it.
runnergirl says
September 19, 2011 at 8:08 pmWow, Bossy, Thank you!!! Now I understand how Teddy and Franklin were related (sort of), and which one had polio w/o having to google anything. I want to read that book now, too 🙂
Gail K. says
September 19, 2011 at 8:52 pmCan we have a history lesson on all the Kennedy Shenanigans next, please Ms. Bossy? I can never keep who pulled the sword out of the stone to create Camelot straight while battelling the forces of evil for the fair Guienevere or was it Marilyn, Mary or Joan?
Theresa says
September 19, 2011 at 9:43 pmI love this! lol! Love the facebook photos!
mrv says
September 19, 2011 at 10:37 pmHe was, also, the father of American socialism.
Claire in Az says
September 20, 2011 at 3:22 amLoved that book … I had no idea how sheltered I ( read:the general public) was!
Little Miss Sunshine State says
September 20, 2011 at 10:18 amDid Missy post “in a relationship” or “It’s complicated” on her facebook profile?. As the kids say “it isn’t official until it’s facebook official”.
Cage Free Family says
September 20, 2011 at 2:58 pmThe Delano Family is a truly ancient lineage full of amazing figures. It’s my family. Some of the journals, paintings, wills, etc show an astounding story. The book The American House of Delano holds a family tree that contains members back to 392 AD. Nope, not a typo. 392.
The tree of course contains other historical Surnames you’d recognize. 🙂
KayKay says
September 20, 2011 at 11:51 pmThis post made me laugh now I must read the book.
GrandeMocha says
September 21, 2011 at 10:04 pmIf the story didn’t have extramartial sex, nobody would care today. A sex tape or naughty Twitter pics could really spice it up.
Diane says
October 4, 2011 at 9:55 pmGenius! Effen genius! Haven’t laughed so hard since…maybe…”Bridesmaids”!