Eleanor In The Village

  • Author: Jan Jarboe Russell
  • Narrator: Samantha Desz
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Duration: 5:07:25
preview
Try it Now Firm without compromise. Cancel whenever you want.

Synopsis

A vivid and incisive account of a mostly unknown yet critical chapter in the life of Eleanor Roosevelt—when she moved to New York’s Greenwich Village, shed her high-born conformity, and became the progressive leader who pushed for change as America’s First Lady.

Hundreds of books have been written about FDR and Eleanor, both together and separately, but yet she remains a compelling and elusive figure. And, not much is known about why in 1920, Eleanor suddenly abandoned her duties as a mother of five and moved to Greenwich Village, then the symbol of all forms of transgressive freedom—communism, homosexuality, interracial relationships, and subversive political activity. Now, in this fascinating, in-depth portrait, Jan Russell pulls back the curtain on Eleanor’s life to reveal the motivations and desires that drew her to the Village and how her time there changed her political outlook.

A captivating blend of personal history detailing Eleanor’s struggle with issues of marriage, motherhood, financial independence, and femininity, and a vibrant portrait of one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world, this unique work examines the ways that the sensibility, mood, and various inhabitants of the neighborhood influenced the First Lady’s perception of herself and shaped her political views over four decades, up to her death in 1962.

When Eleanor moved there, the Village was a neighborhood of rogues and outcasts, a zone of Bohemians, misfits, and artists. But there was also freedom there, a miniature society where personal idiosyncrasy could flourish. Eleanor joined the cohort of what then was called “The New Women” in Greenwich Village. Unlike the flappers in the 1920s, the New Women had a much more serious agenda, organizing for social change—unions for workers, equal pay, protection for child workers—and they insisted on their own sexual freedom. These women often disagreed about politics—some, like Eleanor, were Democrats, others Republicans, Socialists, and Communists. Even after moving into the White House, Eleanor retained connections to the Village, ultimately purchasing an apartment in Washington Square where she lived during World War II and in the aftermath of Roosevelt’s death in 1945.

Including the major historical moments that served as a backdrop for Eleanor’s time in the Village, this remarkable work offers new insights into Eleanor’s transformation—emotionally, politically, and sexually—and provides us with the missing chapter in an extraordinary life.

Chapters

  • 001 EleanorInTheVillage Open

    Duration: 01min
  • 002 EleanorInTheVillage Prologue

    Duration: 11min
  • 003 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter1 NewYorkNewYork

    Duration: 17min
  • 004 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter2 TheHardYears

    Duration: 12min
  • 005 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter3 TheMakingOfAHeroine

    Duration: 14min
  • 006 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter4 TheDreamOfLove

    Duration: 15min
  • 007 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter5 WifeAndMother

    Duration: 13min
  • 008 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter6 VictorianRestraintUpended

    Duration: 22min
  • 009 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter7 BohemiansAndProhibitionInTheVillage

    Duration: 13min
  • 010 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter8 EleanorInGreenwichVillage

    Duration: 13min
  • 011 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter9 PolioStrikes

    Duration: 16min
  • 012 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter10 Franklin&EleanorTheYearsApart

    Duration: 20min
  • 013 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter11 JEdgarHooverInTheVillage

    Duration: 06min
  • 014 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter12 FindingHerOwnWay

    Duration: 16min
  • 015 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter13 TheGovernorsMansion

    Duration: 18min
  • 016 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter14 EleanorRooseveltsEroticRelationship

    Duration: 12min
  • 017 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter15 EleanorAsFirstLady

    Duration: 16min
  • 018 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter16 Eleanor&JosephLash

    Duration: 13min
  • 019 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter17 JEdgarHooverTakesOnEleanor

    Duration: 07min
  • 020 EleanorInTheVillage Chapter18 TheDeathOfThePresident

    Duration: 13min
page 1 from 2