White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America

She was a media sensation, with Gibson Girl looks. The newspapers called her Princess Alice. Her signature blue dress inspired the song Alice Blue Gown. She accompanied her father President Theodore Roosevelt to Germany where the kaiser asked her to christen his yacht; the Meteor Waltz was published in Germany with her image on the sheet music cover. She was the society first woman to smoke in public; Lucky Strike cigarettes ran an ad with her promoting them.

Alice Lee Roosevelt shocked her family and society by pushing the boundaries.

Her mother died on the day of her birth, breaking her father’s heart so deeply that he ran away to his ranch in the West, leaving her under his sister Bamie’s care. As a girl, she was a tomboy, running show more amok with a gang of boys. She was spoiled by her maternal grandparents. She had a life-long battle of wills with her step-mother Edith. Alice wore a green snake to social gatherings. She flirted with men, determined to snare a rich man. At nineteen she married, only to realize that her husband was a drinker and a womanizer. She was a bad mother but a good grandmother.

Alice Roosevelt is remembered for her sardonic remarks. She had a pillow embroidered with “If you can’t say something good about someone sit right her by me.”

I have read many books on TR and a biography of Edith, and was interested in learning more about Alice. This biography would be a good choice if you are not familiar with TR and his family.

Most of the book covers the Roosevelt family and TR’s career. The author concludes that Alice was emotionally damaged by not having experienced warm parental love. Bamie loved her, but Edith insisted that Alice live with TR. But Alice was the image of her mother, a constant reminder to TR of his loss. Edith was an unrelenting perfectionist, and Alice responded by rebellion.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book. show less