White Houses: A Novel by Amy Bloom
Fiction
Published: February 13, 2018. Random House Publishing Group
Fifty-five years after her death, and more than 70 years after she left the White House following her husband’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt remains one of the most intriguing women in history.
While much is known about her public life, her personal life has always remained more of mystery. It becomes apparent that her marriage to FDR was one of convenience than romance, and while his affairs were often gossiped about, hers with women, were kept more secret.
The most notable relationship Eleanor had was with Lorena “Hick” Hickok, who was once a promising reporter in the U.S.A.
The two met in 1932 when Hick was FDR’s presidential campaign. Although they came from different worlds (Eleanor one of privilege, opposite of Hick) the two women developed a friendship that deepened into something more.
Hick ends up moving into the White House and becomes known as Eleanor’s “first friend.” Their relationship is as talked about within White House, but the president seems content as long as his wife is.
He gives Hick a job within the administration. And while it is clear both women love each other, Eleanor is conflicted about her feelings, her role as First Lady, and whether she should continue to enjoy her relationship, or whether Hick isn’t a ‘suitable’ match.
Amy Bloom’s White Houses follows the two women through three decades of their relationship, and flashes back to Hick’s hardscrabble childhood and young adulthood, where she learned how to fend for herself. Although it moves a little slowly at times, it’s a moving love story and a different look at history. Hick is brash and confident, yet she has a tender, vulnerable side that Eleanor brings out in her, while Eleanor had two faces – the public woman bent on saving the world, and the private woman who just wanted to be loved.
The novel is told from Hick’s perspective, and readers will get to learn about her rough and abusive childhood. The story also holds important historical details: the Lindburgh kidnapping, FDR’s fight with polio, the marriage between Franklin and Eleanor, FDR’s affairs, the Roosevelt children and much more. Amy Bloom definitely knows how to write a compelling story and it shows that she did her research on the subject.
Kirsten Lowe studies at Athabasca University.