Eleanor in the Village: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Search for Freedom and Identity in New York’s Greenwich Village

Journalist Russell (The Train to Crystal City) analyzes the powerful influence of Greenwich Village on the life and politics of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) in this immersive history. Russell sketches Roosevelt’s early life as the shy daughter of New York socialites (her mother called her “Granny”) and niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, who gave Eleanor away at her 1905 wedding to her distant cousin, Franklin Roosevelt. Upon finding love letters from her social secretary, Lucy Mercer, to her husband, Eleanor lived independently within her marriage and spent significant amounts of time in Greenwich Village, where she found “her authentic self,” according to Russell. In the bohemian neighborhood, Roosevelt drew inspiration from progressive thinkers, many of whom were lesbians, including League of Women Voters cofounder Esther Lape; protested on behalf of garment workers; and frequented New York City’s first integrated nightclub with Lillian Hellman, James Baldwin, and other friends. These and other “unorthodox activites” brought Roosevelt to the attention of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, whose “secret file” on Roosevelt ran to 3,900 pages. Russell has plenty of details to back up her argument that Greenwich Village was essential to forming Roosevelt’s character, and laces the narrative with illuminating asides about New York City history. The result is an original look at an iconic figure of American politics. (Mar.)