One of the big publishing trends these days is fictionalized, narrative biographies of women whose stories have heretofore been lost to history. Marie Benedict has taught a masterclass (not a MasterClass) on how to do these stories the right way. To tell the story of Belle da Costa Green (a black woman passing as white to work for J. Pierpont Morgan) in The Personal Librarian, she connected with fellow author Victoria Christopher Murray and this partnership ended up being a delight, so much so that Benedict and Murray became close friends themselves.
In their new book, The First Ladies, they channel those feelings of friendship through the friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune. In the podcast, they talk about how people who attend their signing events often want to know as much as about the Benedict-Murray friendship as the Roosevelt-Bethune friendship!
CI244 Show Notes
The First Ladies
The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows she becomes a celebrity, revered by titans of business and recognized by U.S. Presidents. Eleanor Roosevelt herself is awestruck and eager to make her acquaintance. Initially drawn together because of their shared belief in women’s rights and the power of education, Mary and Eleanor become fast friends confiding their secrets, hopes and dreams—and holding each other’s hands through tragedy and triumph.
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president, the two women begin to collaborate more closely, particularly as Eleanor moves toward her own agenda separate from FDR, a consequence of the devastating discovery of her husband’s secret love affair. Eleanor becomes a controversial First Lady for her outspokenness, particularly on civil rights. And when she receives threats because of her strong ties to Mary, it only fuels the women’s desire to fight together for justice and equality.
This is the story of two different, yet equally formidable, passionate, and committed women, and the way in which their singular friendship helped form the foundation for the modern civil rights movement.
Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator. A graduate of Boston College and the Boston University School of Law, she is the New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, Carnegie’s Maid, The Other Einstein, and Lady Clementine. All have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.
Victoria Christopher Murray is an acclaimed author with more than one million books in print. She has written more than twenty novels, including Stand Your Ground, a NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Fiction and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Recirculated
Circulating Ideas 204: The Personal Librarian
Authors who have appeared on the podcast
Mentions
The Personal Librarian on the Good Morning America Book Club
Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol
Steve Thomas is a public library manager who lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with his wife, two kids, and one dog. He has worked in libraries for two decades and has hosted the Circulating Ideas podcast since 2011.
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