Product Description

An intimate and revealing portrait of America’s most memorable first daughter

Alice Roosevelt Longworth lived her entire life on the political stage and in the public eye, earning her the nickname “the other Washington monument.” In this new biography—the first in twenty years—Stacy A. Cordery presents a detailed and richly entertaining portrait of the witty and whip- smart daughter of Teddy Roosevelt.

“Princess Alice” was a tempestuous teenager. Smoking, gambling, and dressing flamboyantly, she flouted social conventions and opened the door for other women to do the same. Her husband was Speaker of the House Nicholas Longworth but—as Cordery documents for the first time—she had a child with her lover, Senator William Borah of Idaho. Alice’s political acumen was widely respected in Washington. She was a sharp-tongued critic of her cousin FDR’s New Deal programs, and meetings in her drawing room helped to change the course of history, from undermining the League of Nations to boosting Nixon. During the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, her legendary salons were still the center of political ferment.

With new insights into Teddy Roosevelt, and for everyone who delights in Washington history and gossip, Alice is a fascinating portrait of a woman who influenced American politics for nearly a century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #183356 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 608 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The fiercely intelligent eldest daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt (1884–1981) was rebellious and outspoken partly as the result of her desperation to gain the attention of an emotionally distant father, according to historian Cordery. Utilizing Alice's personal papers, Cordery describes how she was more devastated by the political infidelity of her husband, House speaker Nicholas Longworth, during the 1912 presidential election (he sided with Taft over TR) than by his sexual dalliances. Her own affair with powerful Idaho Sen. William Borah resulted in the birth of her only child, Paulina. When her beloved father died in 1919, the stoic Alice simply omitted it completely from her autobiography, and she was a poor mother to Paulina, who died in 1957, at 32, from an overdose of prescription medicines mixed with alcohol. Alice's independence of mind often led her against the grain: she worked to defeat Wilson's League of Nations and was a WWII isolationist and America First activist. Her witty syndicated newspaper columns criticized FDR and the New Deal, and she betrayed her cousin Eleanor by encouraging FDR's liaison with Lucy Mercer Rutherford. Cordery (Theodore Roosevelt: In the Vanguard of the Modern) pens an authoritative, intriguing portrait of a first daughter who broke the mold. Photos. (Oct. 22)
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Our royalty is our presidential families, and the eldest daughter of Theodore Roosevelt was even referred to in the press of the time as Princess Alice. "Larger than life" is a clichéd description, but Alice Roosevelt Longworth was qualified to wear it. This absorbing, magnificently complete biography, the first to be based on Alice's own papers, presents her as the first female celebrity of the twentieth century. What that meant in terms of how she viewed herself and how she was viewed by her famous father and an adoring public is explored in Cordery's impressively astute psychological understanding of this quite complex personality. Alice's mother died giving birth to her, her father was famously distant, and her stepmother, First Lady Edith, hadn't a clue about how to handle an intelligent, willful—and world-famous—stepdaughter who seemed bent on acting in the most dramatic fashion. Alice's tumultuous marriage to Speaker of the House Nicholas Longworth is sensitively appraised, and the true father of Alice's one child is identified. Always the political animal, Alice remained a force in Washington, D.C., politics as well as society throughout her long life, a life she plotted for herself unbound by tradition. Hooper, Brad"

Review
“A fine biography of America's ultimate -- and eminently quotable--bad girl. Stacy Cordery has fixed Alice Roosevelt Longworth on the page in all her vibrant color.”
—Stacy Schiff, author of A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America and Vera [Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov] winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“With her unprecedented access to Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s correspondence, Stacy A. Cordery has recreated a vivid picture not only of the woman who was for a time America’s princess, but also of the American Century. Meticulously researched and recounted in lively and evocative prose, Alice sheds new light on TR’s White House, the growth of the modern cultures of celebrity and teenage rebellion, the backroom politics and social skirmishes of the nation’s capital, and inter-war isolationism and postwar anti-Communism. At the center of it all sits the inimitable Mrs. L, that other Washington Monument, whose life, loves, enthusiasms and losses Cordery illuminates with a subtlety never before possible. Alice is as delightful as it is eye-opening to read.”
—Amanda Smith, editor of Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy

“A superb biography of one of twentieth century America's most interesting and significant figures. At its best political biography explores the ways in which an individual's psychology, circumstance, education, and experience affect and reflect public life. In this graceful, insightful chronicle of the life of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Washington's incomparable ‘Mrs. L,’ Cordery has done just that.”
—Randall Woods author of LBJ: Architect of American Ambition

“Stacy Cordery takes us far beyond the popular caricature of Alice Longworth as a self- centered, malignantly-witty hellion. Marshaling previously untapped family archives, this stunning new biography paints a complex, vital portrait of the brilliant first-daughter who, despite tragedies, cut a large and confident swath across nearly a century of American history.”
—Edward J. Renehan Jr., author of The Lion's Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War

“At long last, Alice Roosevelt Longworth has the biography that she has needed. Her life reads like a Cinderella story, except that the stepmother became one of her best friends as well as severest critics, Prince Charming turned out to be something of a rotter but able and loyal in his own bizarre way, and a rough diamond of a lover hovered in the wings and fathered her only child. With insight, sympathy, a critical eye, and prodigious research, Stacy Cordery has produced a portrait of America’s one true political princess and one of the most important and fascinating women ever in the country’s public life..”
—John Milton Cooper, Jr., E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions

“Finally—a biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth that presents her in full and takes her seriously as a player in Washington politics across seven decades and thirteen presidencies. Admirably researched, perceptive, and as much fun as Mrs. L herself, Alice adds scope and depth to our understanding of Washington's mores, the inner workings of the American political machine, and the endlessly captivating clan from which she came.”
—Patricia O’Toole, author of When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House and The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portrait of Henry Adams and His Friends

“I can’t remember the last time I so enjoyed a biography—and learned so much. Stacy Cordery has painted a wondrously vibrant portrait of one of America’s most complicated and intriguing woman, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt, cousin of Franklin and Eleanor, wife of the Speaker of the House, lover of the Senator from Idaho, columnist, wit, political savant, Republican booster, and the most esteemed Washington hostess of her era, Alice has been missing from our history books for far too long. Our thanks to Stacy Cordery for bringing her back, center stage, where she belongs.”
—David Nasaw, author of Andrew Carnegie and The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst

Customer Reviews

The Other Washington Monument
For those of us who live in Washington, the name of Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980) is a familiar one, for she played a major and central role on the stage of the Capital for almost all of her long and interesting life. Daughter of course of Teddy Roosevelt, and his first wife, Alice came of age while TR was President, and had one of the few authentic White House weddings. She married Representative Nicholas Longworth, an Ohio Republican, who eventually rose to be Speaker of the House, before his untimely death in 1931. Alice lived on as a public figure here for nearly 50 more years and just had one heck of an interesting life.

Known for her sharp tongue, sense of mischief, and independent ways (e.g., while her husband was still alive, she apparently managed to have a daughter with Senator Borah of Idaho, and everyone got along famously), Alice was not everyone's cup of tea. But, as this superb biography demonstrates, she had a serious side and was one of the most astue observers of the Washington political scene during the 20th century. Anyone prominent in politics during this period most likely interacted with Alice, particularly at the famous intimate dinners she gave at her beautiful townhouse in Dupont Circle (which still stands, incidentally). Interested in many erudite topics, Alice became quite the reader of books which only added to her incisive command of many topics in addition to the political. All dimensions of her long and fascinating life are covered in this fine book, based upon stupendous research (reflected in the extensive bibliography),including many interviews, and the assistance of Alice's granddaughter which afforded the author unique access to Alice's papers. Though a long book at 483 pages (not counting extensive notes), believe me this biography no more drags than did Alice's life. Alice was undoubtedly one of the most interesting characters on the Washington scene; I regret we arrived here only in 1977, but even then Alice was still at the center of public attention (who else stood on their head regularly in her late 90's) and rightly was given the title of "the other Washington monument" by us all....a title well deserved.

Engaging Portrait of a Political Princess
As a non-historian who wishes she could time travel, I gravitate to biography, occasionally whetting my appetite upon historical fiction (albeit with a guilty sigh). I enjoy the escape into other eras where people thought, dressed, talked, and acted differently than they do today. "Alice" filled this need as few biographies do with as much detail paid to her context as to the subject herself. The result is a satisfying read about a highly imaginable, three-dimensional Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Stacy Cordery's detailed and insightful descriptions introduced me to a woman I had never heard of - and yet she was more popular than Shirley Temple at the height of her popularity! By the time I was finished with the book, I wanted to have tea with this political princess. I felt I had a new grasp of a bygone era and a different perspective of Theodore Roosevelt, too. How fun to realize while his leadership of the country was happening on stage, Alice's backstage antics threatened to steal the show. You don't have to love Alice to appreciate her place in history. And if the era doesn't particularly lure you, Cordery's smart and engaging prose and analysis should.

Outstanding biography of a fascinating woman
One of the 20th centuries most fascinating characters is the subject of the biography she deserves. Yes, the famous wit and flamboyant behavior is there, and her carelessness and neglect. But this book puts Mrs. Longworth's role in political history into perspective with meticulous research that includes interviews with people whose memories of working with her add a wealth of fascinating detail. Well done!