The First Ladies tells the story of two strong women in the 1900s: Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt. Mary born to formerly enslaved parents believed in the importance of education, as a result, she established a school for African American girls in Florida. In addition, she marches as an activist and educator and soon she grows into a celebrity and draws the attention of Eleanor Roosevelt. Drawn together by belief in the power of education, civil rights, and women’s rights. They begin to fight for change together after Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected as president of the U.S. Beginning a campaign of equality and justice these two women find themselves closer than ever. Eleanor quickly begins to formulate her own agenda away from her husband’s after discovering he has been having an affair. Quickly being considered a controversial First Lady due to her outspokenness for the issues she believes in. In response to her actions, she begins to receive death threats from those opposing her views.

I really like this book it combines drama and historical fiction which are two of my favorite genres. I also like how it really focused on how unique the friendship between these two women was, I thought it added a lot of depth. Another thing that I felt was very creative in this book was the switching of point of view, which gave a clear view of what the main characters were feeling and thinking. I also liked the fact that it was a fictionalized account of the real-life friendship between these two women. I have also read another of the author’s books, The Personal Librarian which was also really good so if you end up reading this one you should check it out.

Thank you for reading and Happy Reading!

The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.