Since I’m Canadian, I don’t know much about American History. I wasn’t very familiar with the Roosevelts before reading this story. I learned a lot, but this story just wasn’t for me.

The story was quite confusing at times. It jumped around in the timeline. The main story was about Lorena and Eleanor in a hotel in New York following Franklin Roosevelt’s death. But Lorena would tell stories from her past at times. It was confusing when she would jump to a different time between paragraphs. Sometimes, I would be reading a scene and I would forget what the point of it was or even how she got to that story.

Whenever I read historical fiction, I end up googling the characters to see what parts are true. Many of the events in the story really happened. But some seemed over the top. One example of this is a scene with a circus troupe near the beginning of the story. It reminded me of the exaggerated circus story from the movie Big Fish. These scenes didn’t seem connected. This book was really missing an overall plot to weave these scenes together.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me.

I am willing to bet that today's young adults know very little about our longest serving First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt served 4 terms in office (1933-1945).

Eleanor's funeral in 1962, when I was 14 years old, honored a woman who could be known as the original Super Woman". As First Lady, she fought tirelessly for labor and civil rights reform and was at the forefront of the women's movement. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, she rose to the challenge of comforting the nation through action and words; never sitting still, always on the move, ever present where ever needed. Her flamboyant husband's larger than life personality was balanced by this engaged strong woman capable of challenging the world to seek its better angels.

In 1978, while commissioned to write a biography about Mrs. Roosevelt, Doris Faber (Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World and Life of Lorena Hickok, E. R.'s Friend) unearthed over 3000 letters written by Eleanor to her friend, Lorena Hickok. These letters, donated to the FDR library by Hickok, revealed a previously unknown and deeply intimate relationship between the two women. An unlikely bond; one born to abject poverty and the other to wealth and privilege. The surprising correspondence led to a deeper look at Lorena Hickok's life story and to this surprising side to the First Lady.

Amy Bloom's White Houses, is a fiction that turns, what was known about the FDR White House, in-side-out. The story is narrated by Lorena Hickok.

Using historical records and the Hickock letters, Bloom reveals the dichotomy of the official and the personal lives of the inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during the Roosevelt years. With a wink and a nod, Franklin enjoyed close relationships with other women but no one gave a thought about two old women sharing time in each other's company. Their lesbian relationship, housed in the most public of all homes, was fraught with danger of detection. Their discovery could disastrous in so many ways.

The book opens on April 27, 1945 in New York City. The radio blares, sharing news from the European war-front. It has been two weeks since President Franklin Roosevelt's death. Lorena Hickok is expecting company; a friend that sent her away 8 years before and two weeks ago summoned her. Lorena wonders what to expect after the long absence? She has missed her friend and has longed for her company over the years. Has her friend missed her?

She flits about apprehensively checking every detail - the vases of flowers, the music, the food- will remind her guest of favored times together. The door bell rings and an ashen faced new widow and displaced First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt enters the room. Speechlessly she stumbles through the front door ignoring Lorena's greetings and heads toward the bedroom shedding hairpins and clothing as she goes. She calls out, "Oh, Hick. If you don't hold me, I'll die. Lorena thinks, here is the elephant in the room. Is she just being dramatic or does she really need me?

The atmosphere between the two women is different. Eleanor is not her usual self. Her grief hangs over her like a shroud. They will spend the next three days together, safe from prying eyes, safe to share their secret life. Over the next three days, Lorena does what she has always done: listen, encourage, and allow Eleanor to be free to let down her guard.
The setting stays in New York City, but almost without realizing it we travel seamlessly back and forth through time in Lorena's memory. We cry with her when she is raped by her father. We marvel at her time in the circus (a fantasy addition to an otherwise accurate story). But without a doubt, the most endearing and yet heartbreaking memories are of her long-term relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt.

As a fly on the wall, we listen to the two women enjoy each other's company. The first four years are passionate that slowly, over the years, becomes a slow burn that never dies. As the glitter of Roosevelt life gilds Lorena's life, she is always aware that she is a shadow in Eleanor's life. When she is sent away, she tries to forge a new life, make new friends, but she never found her own identity and purpose; she never stopped obsessing over her one true love.
As this all sounds like doom and gloom, I cannot end without assuring the reader that this book is full of life. Without a doubt, Lorena's smartyalecky demeanor is refreshing staged against pomp and circumstance.

When Franklin was governor of New York, Lorena, then a prominent reporter, interviewed Eleanor.
"I sat right next to her . . . in the old-fashioned drawing room. . .and looked at her cheap, sensible serge dress and flat shoes and thought, Who in the name of Christ dressed you.?"

I loved the book. Recommended reading. Would make a great book club read.

Addendum:
Excerpt from 2016 New York Post article entitled: Eleanor Roosevelt's "mistress" died heartbroken and alone
"After Eleanor’s death in 1962, Hick lived for 5½ more years, worn down by blindness, arthritis and loneliness. She finally died of complications from diabetes at the age of 75.

"With great ceremony, Eleanor was buried alongside Franklin at the Roosevelts’ Hyde Park estate in upstate New York; in addition to the ambassador to the United Nations and two former presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, President John Kennedy attended her funeral, where she was remembered as “the First Lady of the World.”

"In her anonymity, Hick was cremated. Her ashes sat on a shelf of a funeral home for 20 years before being interred in an unmarked grave at a cemetery in Rhinebeck."

This one started out fast but dragged on and on at the end. It had an air of unbelievability to it, where you couldn't imagine the author in that situation with the FIRST LADY. I mean, it was fiction of course, which had an air of truth to it but still, just a so so read for me.

This is the first time I have read anything by Amy Bloom. As I read the beautifully written prose, I really thought it was going to be a page turner. The relationship between Hick and Eleanor. What I received instead was a let down. I did not care about the characters and try as I might, I could find no plot to engage me through the 241 pages. The continuity had me flipping back and forth to see what I had missed and if I had jumped time frames. People kept coming in and leaving with the main character describing them in harsh, critical tones and bringing up girlfriends from her past off and on throughout the story.

As much as I wanted to enjoy the book, I really could not. Most of the history seemed laboriously added in to make it seem as if there was a plot in there, a common thread that could be pulled and everything moved with it. I tried and did not find that.

I'm a prolific reader. I complete all the books I pick up. It took me a very long time to read this book because I could not get into either of the major characters. It's, in a nutshell, a relationship story between two lesbians whose lives are played out in the public forum. I was hoping for more a work of fiction and less of a history less, which I could get on Wikipedia.

That being said, I did not enjoy this story at all. However, the writing and the prose are very well done and shows this writer to be one I could read in the future. I would give this author another chance by reading one of her other stories, but this one fell flat.

I received an uncorrected proof of this novel.

I thought this book was okay. "White Houses" is about the lesbian relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. It was told from the perspective if Lorena. I think I would have liked it better if it had been told from Eleanor's perspective instead. However, I did not have previous knowledge about their relationship and found this an interesting historical fiction book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Well researched, well written and absorbing. So much being written about Eleanor but this was the best I've read yet. Very good.

Amy Bloom’s latest novel, White Houses, leads me to a topic that I’ve mentioned before. I think it is important, when writing fiction about real people, to keep their characters true to that of the original person. Historians disagree about whether Eleanor Roosevelt’s warm friendship with Lorena Hickok was a full-blown lesbian affair. Those who believe it was, base their supposition on Eleanor’s exuberant letters. Those who do not, base it on Eleanor’s dislike of being touched. I think that’s significant, and I think people these days misinterpret the tone of letters from earlier times, when friends expressed themselves more affectionately than we do.

Amy Bloom has chosen to believe that the women’s relationship was a lesbian affair, and that’s what White Houses is about—and all that it’s about. It is written from the point of view of Lorena Hickok—or Hicky, as she was called.

The novel paints a relatively convincing portrait of Eleanor, although I don’t buy the bed bouncing, and it is a sad story and ultimately touching. Its premise, though, makes me uncomfortable for the reasons stated above.

Franklin does not appear in a positive light, and in terms of their marriage, he should not. The character study of Hicky as a downright, plain-speaking reporter who gave up her career for love is a good one, and one I can believe.

This is a very well written book about the relationship between Lorena Hickok (Hick) and Eleanor Roosevelt that started out as professional as she reported on Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt but turned into an intimate and lasting friendship between her and Eleanor. It is written from Hick's point of view which was also interesting to read.

I'm a history buff, so this book worked well for me. This novel looks into the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok, a member of the White House press corps. Their relationship went through many ups and downs - Roosevelt was the President's wife so this would be a scandal, and of course there was the social stigma that was attached to homosexuality at the time. So it is a compelling read from a historical aspect. The writing is also pretty good - it kept me hooked till the end.

American journalist Lorena Hickok (Hick) is covering Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidential campaign when she meets Eleanor Roosevelt, and the two are attracted to one another, first as friends, then as lovers. Told through Hick’s voice, this novel covers her life both before and after her White House years, focusing on her time living in the White House and the not-quite-ready-for-publication details of FDR’s mistresses, White House back stories, and the not-so-subtle blackmail efforts of Eleanor’s cousin Parker Fiske. The historical aspects of stories Hick covered, like the Lindbergh kidnapping, helps to firmly cement the story in time.

Being a fan of historical fiction, I found this book interesting, and I was fascinated by the depth of feeling communicated between Hick and Eleanor. It definitely made Eleanor Roosevelt seem more human, instead of as simply the stoic First Lady who handled all situations calmly and gracefully.

This historical fiction novel explores a side of one of our First Ladies that isn't often covered in history books. It is character-driven and the non-linear timeline makes for an interesting read.

While this is a fictional account based on two real people, it does make me want to learn more about the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok.. The writing style was fluid and kept my interest. How does a First Lady keep privacy (or maybe she does not care) in a very public position in an era where homosexuality is looked as an illegal act, The loving and loyal relationship that Lorena has for Eleanor is beautifully written.

Amy Bloom does a wonderful job with historical fiction and weaving a story that draws you in. This book is about Lorena Hickok’s life, but even more than that, it’s a tale of friendship, devotion, and love; love between Lorena and Eleanor Roosevelt. This is a work of fiction, based off of letters and other historical facts between Hickok and Roosevelt. This story was genuine and immersive. I was mesmerized by it and drawn into this world.

I really have to think on this one, it was not the book I was expecting to read. I went into it expecting to learn about the relationship of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok while in the White House and in the years following, I did not intend to learn about their intimate relationship and all of Hick’s silent thoughts of Mrs. Roosevelt. I did not expect six (6) pages of a letter from a Roosevelt cousin regarding his thoughts and relationship with another man, while married. I did not expect to read about Hick’s intimate escapades with other women. For that reason it turned me off on the book. Although I did feel Hick and Mrs. Roosevelt did have feelings for one another, which is widely known, and you could see and feel that in some of the interactions and conversations they had.

I did finish the book, although it took a lot to do so. It was a poorly written book, nothing flowed, it was choppy and jumped all around, and I really struggled with following along. It felt like a college paper outline and rough draft. Nothing that would tell me it was New York Times Best Seller. I did like learning about Hick’s early life in South Dakota and how she got to be the reporter she was of the day, that I could have learned more about, her assignments, how she got to work at the White House.

I received this book from NetGalley, Random House and Amy Bloom in exchange for my honest review. Because I truly did not like the book, I know a lot of time went into researching and writing, I will give this 2 stars. I can’t say I would recommend it to anyone, because it really was so poorly written, hard to follow, and just not what I was expecting.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for a fair review.
r R
I recently read a very interesting biography of Missy LeHand so I was excited to read a fictionalized account of Eleanor Roosevelt's relationship with Lorena Hickok since the Roosevelts are fresh in my mind.

Surprisingly I found Lorena Hickok to be the more interesting character in this novel. Since the story is told from her point of view, I suppose this makes sense. I expected to learn more about Eleanor Roosevelt's personality but this book is really more about Lorena Hickok.

Ms. Hickok is fascinating. Born in an abusive household, she is put out on her own as an adolescent. She works for a time with a travelling circus. I enjoyed this part of the book the most.

The relationship between Lorena and Eleanor occupies most of the novel. I didn't think their interactions to be very insightful or even interesting. The love affair is written in a flat decidedly unsexy way. There is nothing between these pages that explains why these two would fall in love. It seemed to me like Amy Bloom herself was not convinced that they were ever lovers.

After reading this book, I would like to read a nonfictionalized biography of Lorena Hickok. She is a fascinating woman who I knew very little about. I'm looking forward to learning more.

I had high hopes for it, but just din't keep my interest long enough to finish it. I was looking for a story on Roosevelt and that wasn't it.

The relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena "Hick" Hickock is one that goes beyond friendship. Eleanor and Hick first met when FDR was on the campaign trail. Hick is loud and brash, drinks whiskey and tells bawdy jokes. Her early days were rough, but that is what made her into the woman she is today. And she is utterly devoted to the love of her life, Eleanor Roosevelt. White Houses is set in the days following FDR's death when Eleanor is in need of comfort in the arms of a woman she loves. During those days Hick flashes back to the days when they first met. The days when her beat was on the campaign trail with the future First Lady. The flashbacks continue on through their years together, including when Hick moved into the room next to Eleanor's in the White House. In Hick's tender voice we get to hear all the details of their relationship and a love that was true.

It hasn't been until recent years that I even heard that Eleanor Roosevelt had a girlfriend. Her relationship with FDR was apparently an open one, as his affairs were pretty common knowledge. Can you imagine what would happen in today's political climate if word got out that the First Lady (or First Husband) was in a same-sex, extramarital affair? People would be screaming for heads to roll. Who would have thought that FDR would have welcomed Hick into the White House and even treated her like family? There is one point where Hick recounts a conversation with FDR that SHE should be the one sharing retirement with Eleanor, not him. I need to be clear that White Houses is a fictional story based on real people and real situations. Did that conversation really happen? I don't know. But, the fact that the author takes us into Hick's head, and her heart, is one of the reasons it is fictional. Also, I am not sure if the events depicted in Hicks childhood are true. Ultimately, at the heart of this book is a love story. A true love story and that is the tone that is continued throughout the whole book. It is heartbreaking to think that as much as they loved each other it was done in secret.

Bottom Line - White Houses is a fictional telling of the love story between two real women. While I really enjoyed this book I can see where not everybody would feel the same. I just encourage you to pick White Houses up with an open mind and open heart.

Details:



White Houses by Amy Bloom
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Pages: 240
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Publication Date: 2/13/2018
Buy it Here!

So not what I was expecting. This was a fictionalized memoir of the (lesbian) relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. This story was told from the point of view of Lorena, or "Hick", and was more about her life than anything having to do with the Roosevelts. If you are looking for a story about the Roosevelts that furthers their image as American legends, this is not the book for you.

"White Houses" by Amy Bloom is a beautiful, almost fairytale-ish, story of true and unapologetic love. The book is written from the perspective of Lorena Hickok, "Hick", who was covering Franklin Roosevelt's campaign in 1930s, during which she meets Eleanor, Roosevelt's wife. They quickly became very fond of each other and eventually fall in love.

The story features a beautiful language that seems almost poetic. Amy Bloom created the story that feels very authentic for the work of fiction that it is. An atmosphere of biography, which is present for most the entirety of the book, makes it easy to loose oneself in the story.

I really enjoyed this read, and I would definitely recommend this book for its beautiful language and complexity of the story.

The copy of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful story told n the voice of Lorena Hickok known as “Hick” to her friends. It’s a coming of age story of growing up, of love and loss and observations during the 1930’s and 1940’s, pre and post Roosevelt. Lorena was a standout News reporter covering Franklin Roosevelt’s first run for President. She meets Eleanor and her life changes. Lorena started with less than nothing but educated herself and learned to fit in where needed.

This book is beautifully written. Amy Bloom has taken a work of fiction and made it real. The ups and downs of loving someone that is the center of the world for so many people because of position. The feelings of loving someone more than you love yourself.

I really enjoyed this book. You believe you are reading a biography when in fact it is a work of fiction that feels real. I highly recommend this poignant and beautiful story.