If a Poem Could Live and Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt’s First Live by Mary Calvi: A Book Review

If a Poem Could Live or Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt’s First Love

Author: Mary Calvi

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: 2023

Pages: 320

Synopsis: A fact-based romantic speculative novel about Teddy Roosevelt’s first love, by Mary Calvi, author of Dear George, Dear Mary.

Studded with the real love letters between a young Theodore Roosevelt and Boston beauty Alice Lee―many of them never before published―If a Poem Could Live and Breathe makes vivid what many historians believe to be the pivotal years that made the future president into the man of action that defined his political life, and cemented his legacy.

Cambridge, 1878. The era of the Gilded Age. Alice Lee sets out to break from the norms of her mother’s generation. Women are fighting for educational opportunities and exploring a new sense of intellectual and personal freedom. Native New Yorker, Harvard student Teddy Roosevelt, is on his own journey of discovery, and when they meet, unrelenting currents of love change the trajectory of his life forever.

If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is an indelible portrait of the authenticity of first love, the heartache of loss, and how overcoming the worst of life’s obstacles can push one to greatness never imagined.

My Review: If a Poem Could Live or Breathe tells the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee. Alice dreams of going to college to further her education. One day, she meets a junior at Harvard named Theodore Roosevelt. He falls immediately in love with her and begins to pursue her. This story chronicles the courtship, marriage, and tragedy of Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Lee.

I knew a little bit about Edith Roosevelt, Theodore’s second wife. However, I did not know anything about his first wife. Yet, this novel was very illuminating. I found Alice to be very fascinating. She was strong-willed and spunky. I like how she was a feminist and was for women having an advanced education. Thus, I can see why she managed to capture the heart of the future President.

Theodore was a very compelling and eccentric figure. It was interesting to see the younger and more romantic side of him. He was very loyal and passionate to Alice. He was also a very deep thinker and matched well with Alice. I like how Alice influenced and supported him. Thus, I really liked them as a couple, and I cried at their tragic end.

Overall, If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is a coming of age novel. This was a heart-breaking love story. Both Theodore and Alice had a deep love for each other. It makes readers see another side of this legendary President. He is very sympathetic and human. I also like all of the other characters. They seem very complex. There were a few things I did not like about the novel. I thought that the story moved at a slow pace and seemed drawn out. I also thought the writing was somewhat dry and stilted. It was more like a nonfiction work than a novel. Nevertheless, it was meticulously researched. It was still an enjoyable and moving novel about first love. I recommend this for fans of American Princess, The President’s Lady, and The Kennedy Debutante!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath...

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley: A Book Review

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) Author: Lucinda Riley Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Atria Release Date: 2015 Pages: 463 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to ...

Interview with Melanie Dickerson

Today, I have the honor to host Melanie Dickerson, who is not only the author of The Healer’s Apprentice , but also of her latest novel, The Captive Maiden . She is a young adult author that spins classic fairy tales into a historical and Christian perspective. I have all of her books. I am still in the process of finishing her series, but the books that I have read, I love them. I even went to her book signing to get her to sign my copy of The Healer’s Apprentice . This interview gives readers a good insight to her writing and style of her novels. I would like to thank Mrs. Dickerson for her time and cooperation with the interview and generosity to give my readers a book giveaway. 1. Can we learn from fairytales, and why do they appeal to you? Fairy tales have amazing themes, and I think we can learn from them. Most of them have some sort of moral or takeaway, a lesson we can learn. I like them, but it's hard to say what it is about them that ap...

History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

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