Quinn deftly explores how the unlikely relationship evolved, relying on correspondence between the women, oral histories in archives, various government documents, and numerous other sources that allow readers to learn a great deal about normally private affairs. “Unlike Eleanor, who kept strong emotions under control, Hick let it all out.” Indeed, the intellectual, emotional, and physical chemistry seemed out of sync on the surface. “ reveled in food and drink, played a good game of poker, smoked a lot…and was capable of swearing a blue streak,” writes the author. Roosevelt was normally demure, physically tall, and somewhat slender, while Hickok was loud, brash, and overweight. President Theodore Roosevelt and distant cousin of her eventual husband, Franklin Roosevelt-on the East Coast and in Europe as well as the poverty-stricken, abusive childhood of Hickok in rural South Dakota. Biographer Quinn ( Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times, 2008, etc.) delves into the privileged but unhappy upbringing of Roosevelt-she was the niece of U.S. Soon after she met soon-to-be White House occupant Eleanor, the two formed an intimate relationship that lasted at various levels of intensity until Roosevelt's death.

In 1932, Hickok was an Associated Press journalist writing about politics and other serious matters, unusual for a woman at the time. A dual biography of the 30-year relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) and Lorena Hickok (1893-1968).

Eleanor and Hick by Susan Quinn