The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

[chonies]

Thanks for the recommendation, GoldenFleece! I'll see if my library has it.

I'm definitely not judging Alice by modern standards--'trollish behavior' was just laziness in expression

I also wonder about the psychological aspect with Alice. I suppose negative attention was probably more effective than seeking approval, but it's interesting that polio affected Alice differently than it did FDR. I mean "differently" in the cognitive/emotional sense, and that's why some of the "intimate" psychological insights distanced me a bit. Some of the conclusions were a little too "if X then Y" when that is not the case.

ETA: ripley, I've also seen that attributed to Dorothy Parker.

[GoldenFleece]

Sept 27, 2014 17:00:33 GMT -4 Ripley said:

Wasn't Alice Roosevelt the one who is reported to have said, "If you haven't got something nice to say about someone, come sit beside me"?

It was, "If you can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me," which she even had sewn into a sofa pillow.

[newmanium]

Anyone else get a major sense of deja vu during the part where the republicans, who crashed the economy, yelled "Socialism!" when FDR used the federal government to alleviate the worst of the depression?

[chonies]

Oh yeah--it was like a crazy time loop!

I was describing the show to some acquaintances last night, and they had said they were excited about it and had it on their DVR, but it turns they're huge Teddy fans and hate FDR (no word on Eleanor). Ruh roh! It will be interesting to hear their interpretation if they get around to watching it.