The Author on Her Work
The story of Lucy Mercer and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt has fascinated
historians for more than half a century. An historian by training, a
novelist by profession, I had long flirted with the idea of writing about
this monumental love affair that almost derailed the twentieth century.
Several years ago, when contemporary events once again raised the issue of
where public life stops and private life begins, I decided the time had
come.
The tale is not only emotionally potent but also historically critical. If
FDR had opted for divorce, he probably never would have become president.
If Eleanor Roosevelt had not known betrayal, she might have lived out her
life as a dutiful wife and mother rather than as a force for peace and social
justice throughout the world.
The question I am most often asked about the book is why I decided to write
it as a novel rather than as a biography or history. The tale of Lucy Mercer
and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt is a love story, a love triangle. Love
stories cannot be understood in terms of policy papers or cabinet minutes or
diplomatic and military documents. They can be fathomed only by making the
leap into the hearts and minds of the individuals involved—not the
larger-than-life historical figures we have come to revere, but the human
beings who endured the ordeal.
The thrill of writing about American icons and an incident that helped shape
twentieth-century history came not from invention but from discovery. I
could not change events or alter characters. I had to dig deeper into them.
That is why I decided to tell the story as fiction. I was determined to
stick to the facts—and I have—but I was striving to get at the truth
of a great human drama, and for that only fiction will do.
Discussion Questions
- How do the various fictional techniques such as dialogue, interior
monologues, and the change of point of view—as when Lucy imagines
Eleanor finding her letters—enhance your understanding of the characters
and their historically documented actions?
- Each chapter is preceded by quotations from contemporary characters or
historical sources. Some of these observations, however, are mutually
contradictory. What do you think this says about this story in particular
and the writing of history and historical fiction in general?
- Lucy is an "unreliable narrator." Was there some point at which you
realized this or did it dawn on you gradually? How do you think her
unreliability deepens the book and makes it more complex?
- Traditional interpretations of this chapter of American history have
stereotyped Eleanor Roosevelt as the "wronged wife" and Lucy Mercer as "the
other woman." Do you believe this assessment is fair? Did you feel sympathy
for both women? Did your sympathies shift, and if so, at what points?
- The book begins with a quotation from Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., stating
that "if Lucy Mercer in any way helped Franklin Roosevelt sustain the
frightful burdens of leadership in the Second World War, the nation has good
reason to be grateful to her." Do you agree with this assessment?
- The character Lucy speaks of the mores of another era. How did the book
bring that world to life? Did it allow you to suspend contemporary judgment
and current expectations for men and women and understand the characters in
terms of their own times?
- The character Franklin Delano Roosevelt is at the center of the novel just
as the public figure FDR was the center of the world at the time. Few would
dispute that he was one of our greatest presidents. Many criticize his
behavior toward those close to him. Do you think great men and women should
be held to the same standards of personal behavior as ordinary individuals or
must society give them more leeway?
- Lucy is written in the voice of an Edwardian woman who died midway through
the last century. Discuss the language and sensibilities that ground her
voice in another era.
- One historical fact, which is revealed for the first time in the book, is
that the earliest visit of which we have proof of Lucy Mercer Rutherford to
the White House occurred the day after Missy LeHand suffered her
debilitating stroke. How do you feel about FDR's behavior that day?
- Historians usually ascribe FDR's transformation from callow politician
to compassionate visionary to his contraction of polio. Some of his
contemporaries, however, said loving and losing Lucy Mercer set the
metamorphosis in motion. Were there points in the book when you sensed that
FDR was changing?
- Lucy strives to make legendary characters human. Does knowing more about
Eleanor Roosevelt's flaws make you think she was any less great a woman, or
does recognizing the personal problems with which she struggled increase
your admiration for her?
- FDR's longtime secretary, Missy LeHand, is a minor character in the novel
but a crucial factor in FDR's life. Both she and Lucy loved Franklin
Roosevelt. Neither could have him. Lucy chose to marry another man and raise
a family. Missy refused offers of marriage and devoted her life to serving
FDR. How do you feel about the validity of each choice within the terms of
the time?
- Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt had a flawed marriage but a brilliant
political partnership, which was possible only because they remained
together. Do you think their sacrifices were worth it?
- In an unpublished article, Anna Roosevelt Halstead, the eldest child and
only daughter of Franklin and Eleanor, wrote, "It has always seemed to me
that the greatest contradiction in my parents was, on the one hand their
supreme ability to relate to either groups of people or individuals who had
problems, and on the other hand, their apparent lack of ability to relate
with the same consistent warmth and interest to an individual who was their
child." Did their parental failings come through in the book, and what do
you think those flaws say about the conflict between public and personal
life?
- In the book, when FDR stops at Lucy's estate for lunch, he points out
that a kind of "gentleman's agreement" exists between the press and public
figures. That agreement is no longer in effect today. Do you think our
public life is better or worse for it?
- Novelists often ask themselves what their characters want. What do you
think each of the three main characters—Lucy, Franklin, and
Eleanor—wanted?
- Most historians portray FDR's mother, Mrs. James, as a domineering
matriarch, but her granddaughter Anna maintained that it was Mrs. James who
gave FDR his courage and confidence and it was that courage and confidence
that made him a great leader. Discuss Mrs. James's influence on both Franklin
and Eleanor.
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