The First Ladies

Mary McLeod Bethune, a child of enslaved parents, has struggled endlessly for equal rights. Already a staunch advocate, activist, entrepreneur and educator, an invitation to a luncheon puts Mary into contact with Eleanor Roosevelt, who is trying to open a school herself. Eleanor is keen to speak with Mary, but racism prevails in her social group, Eleanor makes some missteps, but Mary finds an equal partner in advancing rights for the people in her community. As Eleanor's husband makes strides politically, Eleanor becomes a new kind of First Lady, fighting tirelessly alongside Mary to end lynching, segregation and advance Civil Rights for everyone.

I was amazed that I didn't know anything about the First Lady of the Struggle, Mary McLeod show more Bethune. The story of Eleanor and Mary is told through two equally amazing and thoughtful authors who each tackle the sections written from Mary and Eleanor's points of view. Highlighted throughout the story is Mary and Eleanor's unique friendship that is born out of mutual respect and understanding of each other's background and lives. Most of all, it seemed like the two women had a blast being together while working towards a larger goal. I was constantly amazed by Mary's tireless march toward equality and the many different ways she tackled racism. Eleanor's openness and willingness to face difficult conversations with Mary in order to begin to have an understanding of the racism that she faced everyday was refreshing. Many of these conversations still need to be had today. Eleanor's efforts to push her and Mary's combined efforts onto her husband and advance the United States were exemplary. Each point of view gave an intimate look into each woman's life while focusing on their main goals. It was astonishing to read how much Mary and Eleanor were able to get done while reminding myself of how much work we still need to do. show less

This was a fascinating historical portrayal of two first ladies. Of course I knew about Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but had never heard of Mary McLeod Bethune – one of the most important civil rights leaders, Black educators, and governmental officials of her time, known as the “First Lady of the Struggle.” This novel is the story of their friendship as well as the story of the birth of the civil rights movement in America. I was engaged from the beginning with the way the civil rights struggle was depicted against the backdrop of the 20th century, especially World War II. This should be required reading for all high school/college history students.

But even though this is based on fact with tons of show more research, the co-authors stress that when there was no information “we filled in the gaps. In the area where the record about Mary and Eleanor’s connection was spotty or unclear or altogether missing, we extrapolated from our understanding of their characters and our own experiences. As a Black woman and a white woman with a very close friendship and a desire to make positive change in the world, we’ve had honest, challenging conversations that we imagined Mary and Eleanor might have shared as well.”

The co-authors were a perfect fit to write this book of female friendship. In their Author’s Note, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray shared how important it was for them to write about Eleanor and Mary’s little-known but impactful friendship. They were “motivated to capture the spirit of their bond and to portray their interactions in a very real way and show how friendship would impact their discussions – how each felt safe to speak her mind, even though many of the conversations were challenging and often hurtful.”

This novel is both a history of the civil rights movement, as well as the portrayal of a rich, interracial friendship at a time when that was taboo. And it is also a story of two women who supported each other through stressful personal issues, discouraging public circumstances, as well as success and triumph.

I highly recommend this powerful 5-star novel of female strength, resilience, and friendship. show less

In "The First Ladies," Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray explore the bond between FDR'S wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mary McLeod Bethune, the famed Black educator, civil rights advocate, writer, and businesswoman. Roosevelt and Bethune had a long and fruitful friendship that spanned decades. Benedict and Murray state that, although they thoroughly researched their subjects, they changed some facts and dates, and invented much of the dialogue. However, what the authors do, with considerable success, is show how, from 1927 through the 1940s, Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Bethune grew to like, respect, and learn from one another. They devised strategies to promote the causes that were dear to their hearts and worked together show more tirelessly to achieve their goals.

In alternating chapters, Eleanor and Mary offer their perspectives concerning the significant events in their personal and professional lives. Eleanor was, at first, an insecure person whose mother bullied her, and whose husband, Franklin, cheated on her. Nevertheless, she refused to be marginalized, and decided that her mission in life was to use her position to speak out on behalf of those whose voices were silenced, thanks to society's prejudice and indifference. Mary McLeod Bethune raised funds to establish her own college, and spearheaded programs to create jobs and improve social services for Black people. Although Franklin Roosevelt did not always accede to Eleanor and Mary's entreaties—especially since he had to contend with bigoted Southern Democrats who held considerable power—he did what he believed was prudent, considering the political climate at the time.

Some of the verbal exchanges between Eleanor and Mary are stilted and heavy-handed. However, as the story progresses, we get a sense of the genuine regard and trust that developed between these female activists. Their collaboration takes place against the backdrop of the Great Depression; FDR's ascension to the presidency; the rise of Hitler; the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; and a toxic climate in America, where too many Black people lacked the opportunity to get a good education, earn enough money to live comfortably, or serve their country as full-fledged members of the military. With humor, warmth, and poignancy, "The First Ladies" captures the essence of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune. They were brilliant, courageous, and compassionate pioneers who joined forces to fight for racial equality. show less

This is a well-researched historical novel by two acclaimed novelists. They began their foray into describing the perils of racial inequity in their first collaborative book, "The Personal Librarian," and are up-front with the encounters they had with their readers during their book tours. So they collaborated again and we now know that Mary MacLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt were good friends. Which came as quite a pleasant surprise to me.

And rightly so - they were strong forces of nature in an era when women could be strong, they just couldn't be seen being strong. Especially not in the South, and especially not when one's mother-in-law is indulgent to her son, Franklin. We see both Bethune and Roosevelt through their eyes as the show more chapters alternate between each woman and her encounters with her family or in meetings with one another. The time between the Depression and World War II are the backdrop to this novel and chapters may be days or months apart, depending on what actions or meetings each woman had.

But, and this is what lost a half star for me, the constant surprise/astonishment/realization or moment of understanding/acceptance became too much. Too repeated, too much a part of each chapter, each shared experience, each conversation, each visit to one another's home or office or tea room. Yes, I get that it was during the era of Jim Crow. Yes, I get that having the First Lady photographed with Dr. Bethune was seen by many as the height of impropriety. Maybe the authors were responding to their audience members who asked "How do I create this friendship that you have?" with this book. But I felt that the tale of these women's accomplishments and friendship could have been just as strong with a little less repetition. show less

I read this for my RL book club. I liked the authors' last corroboration, The Personal Librarian. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genersk but the writing on The First Ladies made it seem almost YA. I liked the history, I can't resist anything about Eleanor Roosevelt, and I loved learning about Mary McLeod Bethune. I know I'd heard about her before, and her name stuck with me; it's so melodious, but I knew nothing of her accomplishments. These were definitely first ladies; they were so ambitious and morally committed. So kudos to the authors for presenting them to us, but their stories were almost presented in a Hallmark movie style. A little more adherence to reality and a little less feel good vibe would have made for a better show more book. show less

I was so excited to see that Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray were collaborating on another novel, as I absolutely loved their previous book The Personal Librarian. While I had some familiarity with Eleanor Roosevelt before reading this novel, I had never heard of Mary McLeod Bethune. This novel was eye-opening about the work these two remarkable women accomplished together, as they both worked to push the Roosevelt administration to be more inclusive for people of color. There were also moments when they fell short of their goal, and I appreciated this novel's attempts to understand how these characters would have felt and thought about those moments. A thoughtful and educational novel.

The author team that wrote The Personal Librarian returns in this story that imagines the friendship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and First Lady of the Struggle Mary McLeod Bethune.

Covering a couple of decades from when these women met to just after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's death, the book primarily focuses on the relationship and doesn't delve into any one issue or historical moment in depth. Told in alternating narratives from Eleanor Roosevelt to Mary McLeod Bethune and back again, with several months in between and several flashbacks filling in events in between, the story skims the surface as a result. At the end I was somewhat confused about what we know happened and what was simply imagined. The authors, for example, show more explain that many of the conversations they have Eleanor and Mary have about race are actually based on conversations they themselves have had. Still, I'm glad I read it and have a greater appreciation for some of the groundwork that happened before the Civil Rights movement in 1960s through the work of Mary McLeod Bethune and influence of Eleanor Roosevelt. show less