White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America by Shelley Fraser Mickle: A Book Review

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

Author: Shelley Fraser Mickle

Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography

Publisher: Imagine

Release Date: 2023

Pages: 256

Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: The fascinating historical biography of America’s most memorable first daughter, Alice Roosevelt, whose free spirit and status made her the Princess Diana and Jackie O of the early 20th century.

During Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency—from 1901 to 1909, when Mark Twain called him the most popular man in America—his daughter Alice Roosevelt mesmerized the world with her antics and beauty.

Alice was known for carrying a gun, a copy of the Constitution, and a green snake in her purse. When her father told her she couldn’t smoke under his roof, she climbed to the top of the White House and smoked on the roof. She became the most famous woman in America—and even the world—predating Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy as an object of public obsession.

As her celebrity grew, she continued to buck tradition, push against social norms, and pull political sway behind the curtain of privilege and access. She was known for her acerbic wit and outspoken tendencies which hypnotized both the social and political world.

Brilliantly researched and powerfully told, Shelley Fraser Mickle places the reader in the time and place of Alice and asks what would it have been like to be a strong-willed powerful woman of that day. Drawn from primary and secondary sources, Alice’s life comes into focus in this historical celebration of an extraordinary woman ahead of her time.

My Review: Alice Roosevelt was one of America’s most popular First Daughters. She was known for her fiery personality and for creating scandals. This biography of Alice Roosevelt examines her early life as First Daughter. It also examines why Alice Roosevelt may have developed her eccentricities. This biography also shows why Alice Roosevelt is still a legendary icon.

I first heard of Alice Roosevelt when reading Stephanie Marie Thornton’s American Princess. So, I was intrigued to read a nonfiction biography of her. Alice Roosevelt was the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee. However, Theodore Roosevelt was so distraught over his wife’s death that he could hardly call Alice by her name. For the first three years, she was raised by Theodore Roosevelt’s sister, Barbie. During her childhood, Alice tried so hard to win her father’s love who often ignored her. When she failed, Alice rebelled against her father and led a scandalous lifestyle.

Overall, this biography shows a woman who desperately tried to win her father’s love. I liked how this book attempts to give an intimate portrait of her life. I found Alice Roosevelt to be a very sympathetic figure. There were a few drawbacks to the biography. It focused more on the people who surrounded Alice Roosevelt rather than Alice herself. Nevertheless, it was a short and fascinating read! It makes me want to read more about Alice Roosevelt! This biography is a must-read for those who are interested in reading about America’s First Families! I recommend this for fans of Eliza’s True Story, Hissing Cousins, and The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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 ...

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...

Interview with Sara B. Larson

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sara B. Larson. She is the author of the Defy trilogy. This young adult fantasy trilogy follows a strong female character named Alexa, who is in charge of saving her kingdom as well as her prince. In this interview, we get insight into the Defy trilogy and into her writing in general. Thank you, Mrs. Larson! 1. What inspired you to write Defy ? DEFY came from a very difficult period in my life, when I lost someone I loved. I was so upset by his death that I couldn’t write anything, but a friend of mine told me to stop trying to write a book and just write what I was feeling. So that’s exactly what I did. I sat down and wrote a scene, not intending for it to go anywhere…but then I got curious about the characters. This whole fascinating world unraveled itself and I realized Alexa had a very intriguing, difficult, but ultimately amazing story that needed to be told. I threw myself into that writing and from there the...

History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Search This Blog