Eleanor Vs. Ike :: A Review

"historical fiction"

I grew up in the Hudson Valley, across the River and upstream from The Roosevelt's Hyde Park home. And while I haven't made much of it here on Gather, I'm also a student of New York history. My bookshop specializes in books on the subject. So you could say New York State history is both my hobby and vocation. In that respect, I believe that it is certainly nothing to be fictionalized or trifled with. The oxymoron "historical fiction" describes a book that is rarely one and always the other. It cannot be both. And, in as much as we accept history as true, which, for the sake of this review we must close a jaded eye and accept, for to not do so would invite too many distractions from my stated purpose, then Eleanor vs. Ike is a work of fiction. Normally, I don't read fiction, but there were compelling reasons to make an exception, not the least of which is that it's a damn good read.

The household I grew up in was a Republican household, as all "good" households were in my community. I remember wearing "I Like Ike" political buttons to school, and seeing Ike's television ads on our new black and white TV (as if I have to make that distinction - color television hadn't been invented yet!) so the politics and history in this book were very much a part of my growing up in rural New York.

I state all of the above so that you know that reading "Eleanor vs. Ike" was a trip back to my youth, with real heroes and real villains duking it out before my eyes "good vs. evil" with no modern shades of gray to confuse the issue. It was a simpler time. There are people who will read this book and make comparisons with today's political events. I don't believe I'm ruining the book for you by divulging that the plot centers around the first female candidate for presidential office. (And I don't mean Ike in drag, although his famous cross-dressing contemporary, J. Edgar Hoover, plays a pivotal role in the machinations.) The fact that the author creates believable characters to interact with her authentic recreations of historical characters, and does so credibly, even in an incredible story, makes this book a page turner.

Make no mistake. The warmth, intelligence, and humanity of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's wife are reverently portrayed. (Even though to describe her as defined by him is a disservice to such a great lady. I mention it only to place her in historical context for the uninformed reader.) I found Eleanor Roosevelt's persona to be much more accessible in fiction than I ever found her in real life. Something I can only ascribe, after reading this book, to my own short comings. The woman, suffragist, emancipator, politician, first lady, diplomat, wife and lover (yes, even that) is truly depicted, warts, warmth and all, to reveal a candidate any party would be proud to claim.

The author twists the truth a bit to create a meeting between Eleanor Roosevelt and a young Hillary Rodham Clinton. To so obviously connect both "first" female candidates for the United States presidency effectively equates one with the other. Is it an interesting feminist conceit, or a brilliant marketing ploy? You decide. Since Hillary is really the first female candidate for our presidency, comparisons will be made, but I believe a great woman's stature will be diminished by it. Hillary Clinton is no Eleanor Roosevelt.

That being said, the book, at nearly every plot turn, is rooted in history. There was a movement to draft Eleanor as a candidate against Ike, and it all played out around the country's exasperation with the Korean conflict, Nixon's famous "checkers" speech, Senator McCarthy's "Red Scare" and what a supreme patriot accomplishes when her country presses her into service on diplomatic missions to the UN and India.

Read this to see history in a different perspective. Play "what if" as the author expertly maneuvers you through what occurs when a chance event, one that might change the course of history, plausibly turns the world upside down. Or does it? No "spoilers" here, folks, you'll have to read "Eleanor vs. Ike" to find out. Then read the author's notes, where you'll find the redemption of "historical fiction". Robin Gerber uses the actual words of the non-fictional characters in all the key elements of the story. In her notes you'll see where, when and in what context the public writings, speeches and even private letters were employed to "create" history from real events. I appreciate the lengths she went to and the fastidious documentation she presents in the notes to this "historical fiction". She separates the "historical" from the "fiction", creating a clear delineation in which I could enjoy reading this book.

Richad Frisbie is a Food Correspondent on Gather