About the Book
An entertaining and eye-opening biography of America's most memorable first daughter
From the moment Teddy Roosevelt's outrageous and charming teenage daughter strode into the White House-carrying a snake and dangling a cigarette-the outspoken Alice began to put her imprint on the whole of the twentieth-century political scene. Her barbed tongue was as infamous as her scandalous personal life, but whenever she talked, powerful people listened, and she reigned for eight decades as the social doyenne in a town where socializing was state business. Historian Stacy Cordery's unprecedented access to personal papers and family archives enlivens and informs this richly entertaining portrait of America?s most memorable first daughter and one of the most influential women in twentieth-century American society and politics.
About the Author :
Stacy A. Cordery is chairman of the history department at Monmouth College in Illinois and is the author of Theodore Roosevelt- In the Vanguard of the Modern. She is the bibliographer for the National First Ladies' Library. This is her third book.
Review :
? In a country that professes to repudiate royalty but has a soft spot for it anyway, Alice Roosevelt was a princess if not a queen.?
?Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post"
In a country that professes to repudiate royalty but has a soft spot for it anyway, Alice Roosevelt was a princess if not a queen.
Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post"
a In a country that professes to repudiate royalty but has a soft spot for it anyway, Alice Roosevelt was a princess if not a queen.a
aJonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post"
aA fine biography of America's ultimate -- and eminently quotable--bad girl. Stacy Cordery has fixed Alice Roosevelt Longworth on the page in all her vibrant color.a
aStacy Schiff, author of "A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America" and "Vera [Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov]" winner of the Pulitzer Prize
aWith her unprecedented access to Alice Roosevelt Longworthas correspondence, Stacy A. Cordery has recreated a vivid picture not only of the woman who was for a time Americaas princess, but also of the American Century. Meticulously researched and recounted in lively and evocative prose, "Alice" sheds new light on TRas White House, the growth of the modern cultures of celebrity and teenage rebellion, the backroom politics and social skirmishes of the nationas capital, and inter-war isolationism and postwar anti-Communism. At the center of it all sits the inimitable Mrs. L, that other Washington Monument, whose life, loves, enthusiasms and losses Cordery illuminates with a subtlety never before possible. "Alice" is as delightful as it is eye-opening to read.a
aAmanda Smith, editor of "Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy"
aA superb biography of one of twentieth century America's most interesting and significant figures. At its best political biography explores the ways in which an individual's psychology, circumstance, education, and experience affect and reflect public life. In this graceful, insightful chronicle of the life of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Washington's incomparable aMrs. L, a Cordery has done just that.a
aRandall Woods author of "LBJ: Architect of American Ambition"
aStacy Cordery takes us far beyond the popularcaricature of Alice Longworth as a self- centered, malignantly-witty hellion. Marshaling previously untapped family archives, this stunning new biography paints a complex, vital portrait of the brilliant first-daughter who, despite tragedies, cut a large and confident swath across nearly a century of American history.a
aEdward J. Renehan Jr., author of "The Lion's Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War"
aAt long last, Alice Roosevelt Longworth has the biography that she has needed. Her life reads like a Cinderella story, except that the stepmother became one of her best friends as well as severest critics, Prince Charming turned out to be something of a rotter but able and loyal in his own bizarre way, and a rough diamond of a lover hovered in the wings and fathered her only child. With insight, sympathy, a critical eye, and prodigious research, Stacy Cordery has produced a portrait of Americaas one true political princess and one of the most important and fascinating women ever in the countryas public life..a
aJohn Milton Cooper, Jr., E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions
aFinallyaa biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth that presents her in full and takes her seriously as a player in Washington politics across seven decades and thirteen presidencies. Admirably researched, perceptive, and as much fun as Mrs. L herself, "Alice" adds scope and depth to our understanding of Washington's mores, the inner workings of the American political machine, and the endlessly captivating clan from which she came.a
aPatricia OaToole, author of "When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House" and "The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portraitof Henry Adams and His Friends"
aI canat remember the last time I so enjoyed a biographyaand learned so much. Stacy Cordery has painted a wondrously vibrant portrait of one of Americaas most complicated and intriguing woman, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt, cousin of Franklin and Eleanor, wife of the Speaker of the House, lover of the Senator from Idaho, columnist, wit, political savant, Republican booster, and the most esteemed Washington hostess of her era, Alice has been missing from our history books for far too long. Our thanks to Stacy Cordery for bringing her back, center stage, where she belongs.a
aDavid Nasaw, author of "Andrew Carnegie" and "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst"
A fine biography of America's ultimate -- and eminently quotable--bad girl. Stacy Cordery has fixed Alice Roosevelt Longworth on the page in all her vibrant color.
Stacy Schiff, author of "A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America" and "Vera [Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov]" winner of the Pulitzer Prize
With her unprecedented access to Alice Roosevelt Longworths correspondence, Stacy A. Cordery has recreated a vivid picture not only of the woman who was for a time Americas princess, but also of the American Century. Meticulously researched and recounted in lively and evocative prose, "Alice" sheds new light on TRs White House, the growth of the modern cultures of celebrity and teenage rebellion, the backroom politics and social skirmishes of the nations capital, and inter-war isolationism and postwar anti-Communism. At the center of it all sits the inimitable Mrs. L, that other Washington Monument, whose life, loves, enthusiasms and losses Cordery illuminates with a subtlety never before possible. "Alice" is as delightful as it is eye-opening to read.
Amanda Smith, editor of "Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy"
A superb biography of one of twentieth century America's most interesting and significant figures. At its best political biography explores the ways in which an individual's psychology, circumstance, education, and experience affect and reflect public life. In this graceful, insightful chronicle of the life of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Washington's incomparable Mrs. L, Cordery has done just that.
Randall Woods author of "LBJ: Architect of American Ambition"
Stacy Cordery takes us far beyond the popular caricature ofAlice Longworth as a self- centered, malignantly-witty hellion. Marshaling previously untapped family archives, this stunning new biography paints a complex, vital portrait of the brilliant first-daughter who, despite tragedies, cut a large and confident swath across nearly a century of American history.
Edward J. Renehan Jr., author of "The Lion's Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War"
At long last, Alice Roosevelt Longworth has the biography that she has needed. Her life reads like a Cinderella story, except that the stepmother became one of her best friends as well as severest critics, Prince Charming turned out to be something of a rotter but able and loyal in his own bizarre way, and a rough diamond of a lover hovered in the wings and fathered her only child. With insight, sympathy, a critical eye, and prodigious research, Stacy Cordery has produced a portrait of Americas one true political princess and one of the most important and fascinating women ever in the countrys public life..
John Milton Cooper, Jr., E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions
Finallya biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth that presents her in full and takes her seriously as a player in Washington politics across seven decades and thirteen presidencies. Admirably researched, perceptive, and as much fun as Mrs. L herself, "Alice" adds scope and depth to our understanding of Washington's mores, the inner workings of the American political machine, and the endlessly captivating clan from which she came.
Patricia OToole, author of "When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House" and "The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portrait of Henry Adams and HisFriends"
I cant remember the last time I so enjoyed a biographyand learned so much. Stacy Cordery has painted a wondrously vibrant portrait of one of Americas most complicated and intriguing woman, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt, cousin of Franklin and Eleanor, wife of the Speaker of the House, lover of the Senator from Idaho, columnist, wit, political savant, Republican booster, and the most esteemed Washington hostess of her era, Alice has been missing from our history books for far too long. Our thanks to Stacy Cordery for bringing her back, center stage, where she belongs.
David Nasaw, author of "Andrew Carnegie" and "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst"
