Hissing Cousins by Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer

Hissing Cousins: The Untold Rivalry of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth

By Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer

I was introduced to Hissing Cousins when the authors visited my library a year or two ago. I bought a copy of the book and looked forward to reading it because they had brought the history to life in a chatty way. Of course, as I have difficulty finding time to read printed books, I eventually had to buy a Kindle copy and found the writing style to be just as accessible and vivid as the author’s presentation was.

Eleanor and Alice were a part of prominent families so they weren’t complete strangers to fame but they definitely carved their own mark in the world during their lifetimes.

Alice was the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, a larger than life figure who she adored. She did not have an easy early life; her mother died when she was just two days old. Her father was so distraught that he didn’t have much to do with her for some time after that. The raising of Alice was left to an Aunt until Teddy remarried and his second wife insisted on bringing Alice to live with them. When Teddy became president, Alice became a media darling.

Alice and Eleanor had often spent time together in their formative years as Teddy and Eleanor’s father, Elliot, were brothers. But more than that, they were both partially raised by Auntie Bye. Both of Eleanor’s parents had died when she was around 8 years old.

Though she had helped with the campaign to elect him, Eleanor hoped her life would be busy but out of the limelight when her husband, Franklin Roosevelt, took office as president some years later. However she soon found herself pulled into many issues and taking a very active and vocal role.

The two women maintained an odd tug and pull of affection and rivalry throughout their years. Alice was a staunch Republican and Eleanor an avowed Democrat. They were both outspoken on their causes though Alice in a more sarcastic tone, enjoying being the center of attention and influence, while Eleanor was more earnest and worked very hard to champion the causes of the disenfranchised and downtrodden.

There is so much vivid detail and little scenes are brought distinctively to life. I was absorbed by this book and read it slowly, fascinated. I highly recommend it.