This is a really well written story based on the story of Eleanor Roosevelt and her friend Lorena Hickock. There have been many that have been told from the outside or from Eleanor's perspective but this delves into things from Hickock's perspective. The writing is great, story is fast moving and voyeuristic.

This book is such a treat to read, it doesn't really matter if the events are true or not. They FEEL right. Much of that feeling can be attributed to the beautiful writing.

I don't know how much of this fictional Hick is based on the real-life one, but I do know that it's nearly impossible not to love this woman, as she's portrayed in this book. (At the very least, she would get a seat at most people's table for that game, "What people in history would you invite to dinner party?") The way this woman communicates, her adventuresome spirit, the fierceness of her love for Eleanor--all of it add ups to a memorable character with whom you are more than happy to spend hundreds of pages.

In the end, this is a rather epic love story, with beautiful passages like this one on whether love and sexual attraction fades, "I think that even if you are both old ladies riding side by side on the Second Avenue subway, with one of you going home to three grandchildren and a doddering husband, you can lock eyes, and remember when you weren't. You remember that very pleasurable and surprising thing that was done to you by the wrinkly old bag of bones next to you and you breath in memory the weight and the mortality and the sensible shoes are just costume, falling away, and your real selves rise up, briefly, dancing rosy and naked, in the middle of the subway car."

There are some drawbacks to the book which might bother some (but didn't particularly derail me). First, the structure of the book is unique. Nearly all of it occurs after FDR has died, with the narrative flashing back in time. Sometimes the jumps can be confusing because they're not always in chronological order. Secondly, there is a brief incidence of rape and also violence to animals, which may be triggering to some. For me, it made me love Hick even more. This is one bad ass woman (theoretically...again, this is fiction) who went through a lot to become the super smart woman with the sassy mouth who could hold her own with FDR during a late night chat at the White House.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bloom leaves no doubt about the nature of the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lurlene Hickson. Hick was best friend, confidante, advisor, and yes, lover. In this fictionalized account, in Hicks's voice, we learn about their romance, sometimes in quite explicit detail. Their sad childhoods, one rich and one poor, are described as they learn about each other during their budding affair. The glimpse into the Roosevelt administration and West Wing is both gossipy and fascinating. Since there were no source notes, at least in this e-galley, readers can only speculate about just how much of this novel is based on fact, but it is certainly entertaining and thought-provoking.

“Lorena Alice Hickock, you are the surprise of my life. I love you. I love your nerve. I love your laugh. I love your way with a sentence. I love your beautiful eyes and your beautiful skin and I will love you till the day I die.”
I pushed out the words before she could change her mind.
“Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, you amazing, perfect, imperfect woman, you have knocked me sideways. I love you. I love your kindness and your brilliance and your soft heart. I love how you dance and I love your beautiful hands and I will love you till the day I die.”
I took off my sapphire ring and slipped it onto her pinkie. She unpinned the gold watch from her lapel and pinned it on my shirt. She put her arms around my waist. We kissed as if we were in the middle of a cheering crowd, with rice and rose petals raining down on us.”

A sea change has occurred in the way mainstream Americans regard lesbian relationships. This book proves it. We would have laughed at the possibility in the 1980s, that a major publishing house would one day publish this novel depicting a revered First Lady in such a (covert) relationship—while she was in the White House, no less. But Amy Bloom tells it, square and proud, and she lets us know that this is only fiction by an inch or two. Many thanks go to Random House (I will love you till the day I die) and Net Galley for the DRC, which I received free and early in exchange for this honest review. This novel is now for sale.

Nobody can tell a story the way that Bloom does it, and this is her best work yet. The story is told us by Lorena Hickok, a journalist known as “Hick”, an outcast from a starving, dysfunctional family, the type that were legion during America’s Great Depression. The voice is clear, engaging, and so real that it had me at hello, but the story’s greatest success is in embracing the ambiguity at the heart of the First couple, Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. So many great things done for the nation; so many entitled, thoughtless acts toward the unwashed minions they knew. A new friend, a favorite visitor brought from cold hard poverty, here and there, to occupy a White House spare bedroom and provide stimulating conversation, a new viewpoint, and to demonstrate the administration’s care for the common folk; then dumped unceremoniously, often without a place to go or money to get there, when they became tiresome or ill or inconvenient. The very wealthy, privileged backgrounds from which the Roosevelts sprung provided them with myopia that comes with living their whole lives in a rarefied environment. It is fascinating to see history unspool as Eleanor visits coal camps and picket lines, visits textile mills where children labor; but then of course, she repairs to the best lodging available before her journey home commences. And Hick is welcome when she is convenient, but she is banished for a time when there’s too much talk.

And yet—oh, how Lorena loved Eleanor, and the reverse was true, but not necessarily in the same measure, with the same fealty, or the same need.

Social class, the dirty secret America has tried to whitewash across the generations, is the monster in the Roosevelt closet. And FDR, perhaps the greatest womanizer to grace the Oval Office, has his PR people tell everyone that he has no manly function what with the paralysis, and that all those pretty girls that come and go are just there to cheer him up. He makes JFK look like a monk in comparison. Yet we cannot hate him entirely, because of the New Deal:

“He was the greatest president of my lifetime and he was a son of a bitch every day…He broke hearts and ambitions across his knee like bits of kindling, and then he dusted off his hands and said, Who’s for cocktails?”

I have a dozen more meaty quotes I’d like to use here, but it’s much better if you get this book, by hook or by crook, and find all of them for yourself. It’s impressive work by any standard, and I defy you to put it down once you’ve begun.

Highly recommended.

My rating: 3 stars

I seem to be the outlier here but this book, which I was initially excited to read, ended up falling a little flat for me. The first half or so of the book was really good, especially the chapters about Lorena Hickok’s (Hick’s) childhood and her background – that portion read like a riveting biography that I couldn’t seem to put down. I found myself wanting to know more about Hick’s personal story in terms of her family and the other people she had met during her brief stint with the circus. I was also fascinated by her perspective on some of the historical events and people she had covered as a journalist (i.e. the section on Lindbergh was quite interesting). As a result, I was able to fly through this first portion of the book pretty quickly. Unfortunately though, once the second half of the book transitioned into Hick’s relationship with the Roosevelts (Franklin and his wife Eleanor) and what her life was like living with them in the White House, the story really slowed down for me. While I did feel like a fly on the wall getting the “inside scoop” on some of the things that went on behind closed doors and some of Hick’s observations about the Roosevelts as well as the people around them were truly interesting, there were times when I felt that the details were a bit too repetitive and after awhile, I found my attention waning. A few times when I got distracted and later re-focused back on the story, I realized that I had inadvertently skipped reading entire paragraphs in certain sections, yet it didn’t feel like I had missed anything so I didn’t go back to re-read those paragraphs – usually not a good sign. Perhaps I had problems connecting with the second half of the story because it lacked emotional depth to me – it felt almost as though the narrator (Hick) was recounting her relationship with Eleanor as a detached third party rather than an intimate companion and friend. In comparisons, during the first portion of the story when Hick talked about her difficult childhood and her life prior to meeting the Roosevelts, it felt more personal and poignant – Hick’s personality came alive for me during those chapters and I felt every emotion she felt…but that personality and emotion fizzled in the latter half of the story and I was left with a sense that something was lacking. Perhaps I had the wrong expectations going into this book – from reading the summary, I thought I was going to get an emotionally rich, personalized (albeit fictional) story about Hick’s relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt and the struggles they endure in maintaining this “open secret” during the Roosevelt era. While there WAS some of this in the second half of the story, I felt that most of Hick’s personal story was overshadowed by that of the Roosevelts – the second half read more like a run-of-the-mill biography of Eleanor Roosevelt rather than an impassioned recounting of a love affair from Hick’s perspective.

This book didn’t quite work out for me but I think it was more of an issue with me not connecting to the story rather than problems with the book itself. The version I read was an uncorrected ARC and while the writing was very good, there wasn’t much information in terms of Author’s Note and historical context, both of which are things I usually look for when reading historical fiction, and in this case, I wasn’t engaged enough in the story to want to spend time looking up the historical details on my own so that was an issue for me as well. This one has gotten many glowing reviews though so I would encourage those interested to check those out for a more balanced perspective.

Received ARC from Random House via NetGalley

I was really excited to read this book. I find Eleanor Roosevelt to be an incredibly fascinating person and I had not previously heard of her relationship with Lorena Hickok. I know that this is a book of fiction but, after reading a little bit more about their friendship from other sources, I believe Ms. Bloom has taken a lot of liberties in writing this book. It isn’t widely accepted that their relationship was homosexual and there is a lot of that in this book. I also had a difficult time with Ms. Blooms writing style. I find the time lines somewhat confusing at different times and some of the other relationships of Ms. Hickok were vague and confusing as to when they occurred. I wonder if this is a result of the author having to make assumptions about relationships and history. The book has prompted to do more reading on this subject which is always a good thing

I loved Amy Bloom's <i>White Houses</i>! I hadn't read anything by Bloom in a very long time, and this book reminded me of what a spectacular writer she is. The fictionalized account of the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena "Hick" Hickok is delightful. I love that this is a love story between two women who are older, and that fact is embraced, rather than swept under the rug. I love that the story follows Hick, instead of Roosevelt, as she is by far the more interesting character.

The only trouble I had with the book was that, as with many fictionalized accounts based on true stories, it gives me that creepy feeling of walking on someone's grave. We will never be able to know the true nature of the relationship between Roosevelt and Hickok and it sometimes feels wrong to put words in the mouths of real people. That aside, it was a fantastic read.

I would recommend this book to all of my Eleanor Roosevelt nerds (you know who you are) and to anyone who is interested in a different perspective on the Roosevelt years than the one you got in school.

I hadn't heard about the Eleanor Roosevelt's open secret, and probably because of that I thought the premise of this novel was very interesting. I haven't read Amy Bloom before, so I'm not sure if she normally writes historical fiction, but this didn't feel like historical fiction to me. The language and style seemed very modern. At times, it felt like parts of the story were tossed in haphazardly; perhaps it would've been nice to have the fictionalized elements grounded in reality - having them shown alongside events that actually happened might have added to the sense of time and place.

The novel was easy to read but I didn't find the story compelling or well-organized. I can see it being good for book club discussions.

While Houses by Amy Bloom. I was so anxious for this book to be published and it was no let down. The historical fiction story is about the friendship and love between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok who was a journalist and eventually moved into the White House as First Friend. She worked with Theodore Roosevelt as well. It is a wonderful and uncomplicated story of a move than loving friendship. More than the first half of the book is debated to Lorena and from her childhood to become an adult which is told wonderfully by the author. I was much more impressed with the first half, although the book as a whole was enjoyable. Amy Bloom, as usual, is a beautiful writer. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Random House and netgalley for this ARC.

This book just was not for me. I couldn't get myself interested enough to finish it.

White Houses Is the story of the romance between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. Both women in their own way had very sad lives. Eleanor because she lived in the shadow of FDR and Hickok because of her brutal early life.

While the romance was scandalous it was by no means extraordinary. Bloom characterizations of Eleanor and Lorena are lovely, they were devoted to each other.

Amy Bloom is a wonderful writer, she has written a thought-provoking book about two lost souls that find a bit of happiness with another.

BROOKE’S REVIEW

Amy Bloom is a marvelous writer, and she brings to live much loved historical figures in her first historical fiction work, White Houses. Going behind the scenes during the presidency of FDR, this novel explores the relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and AP reporter Lorena “Hick” Hickok.

Told from Hick’s perspective, we learn about a story of deep friendship, and yes, love, between the two women. What’s fascinating about Bloom’s work is that she is able to write this story in a way that reveals the women without being overly sensationalist, but in a way that gives depth of character to each. This book is as much as about the individual women and their place in history as about who they were to each other.

PRAISE

“A remarkably intimate and yet informative novel of the secret, scandalous love of Eleanor Roosevelt and her longtime friend and companion Lorena Hickok, who relates the tale in her own, quite wonderful voice.”—Joyce Carol Oates

“Amy Bloom illuminates one of the most intriguing relationships in history. Lorena Hickok is a woman who found love with another lost soul, Eleanor Roosevelt. And love is what this book is all about: It suffuses every page, so that by the time you reach the end, you are simply stunned by the beauty of the world these two carved out for themselves.”—Melanie Benjamin, author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue

AUTHOR

Amy Bloom is the author of Lucky Us, Away, Where the God of Love Hangs Out, Come to Me (National Book Award finalist), A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You (National Book Critics Circle Award finalist); Love Invents Us; and Normal. Her stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Short Stories, The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction, and many other anthologies. She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, Granta, and Slate, among other publications, and has won a National Magazine Award.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was really looking forward to this book. I'm a longtime fan of Amy Bloom, and like how she writes somewhat quirky people inside relationships.

I like the idea of reading the untold story of the unknown (but open secret) lesbian lover of one of the greatest first ladies we've ever had in the United States.

But I think the author's lack of experience in writing historical fiction does not serve her well here. The pieces of the story are interesting but yet it is somehow not very well told.

It may still be worth reading for some - the relationship between Lorena and Eleanor definitely has some fire in it, and I liked imagining Eleanor through Lorena's eyes. At times I felt like I lacked some crucial details about the historical context that I wasn't getting from the book itself, things that would have helped me better understand the story. There are also some unfavorable comments about FDR, alongside some insights into his appeal, also coming from Lorena's perspective. Her childhood and circus past were... well, they were something else. At times it felt exaggerated and difficult to read as historical fiction. I'm not sure if it's because of the actual facts of the story being that extreme or if it's the writing, but I feel as if I'd have to read some biography of both Lorena and Eleanor to truly understand it all.

This was a great historical fiction novel about the relationship of Lorena Hickok (Hicks) and Eleanor Roosevelt. From Hicks' perspective we learn of her childhood in South Dakota through he meeting Eleanor when FDR was governor. Hicks became known as the first friend, living in the White House. This was a love story well beyond mere friends and it spanned decades. While the affairs of FDR, including a long lasting one with his private secretary, were things I had heard about the romance of Hicks and Eleanor was not familiar to me beyond a passing knowledge that people hav3 said she was a lesbian.

Based on thousands of letters, the novel is a beautiful testament to a hidden relationship as well as to the strength of the Roosevelts in putting the country and their ability to lead it in front of everything else

White House by Amy Bloom tells of a love story between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lenora Hickok. Although, I knew the First Lady favorited woman to the President as I have read in the past, reading a fictionalized telling from this woman confirmed the stories. Amy Bloom chooses to have the love story told in a first hand account of the conversations and events between these two women. The diary style entries are believable with antidotes and tender moments of passion, but I found the see saw accounts of events difficult to follow. I enjoyed learning of Eleanor's true nature beyond her husband's infamous presidency and the people who she helped and loved. She truly was a good person who was not appreciated by her family or husband, but loved by many.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc.

This isn't my normal book but I'm glad I can't across it. It's an intimate portrayal of the Roosevelts which makes me wonder how much is true and how much is happenstance. Either way I'm glad I was brought along on the journey into their lives. The book was written really well, the transitions made sense, and I enjoyed it until the end.

Lorena Hickok, known as Hick, hated her father and when he died, she refused to help with his funeral expenses. She had a very tough upbringing and worked hard for what she got. Even before her mother died, she was abused by her father and they were dirt poor. She finally got a chance to leave home but had to work awful jobs for very little money. Some of the jobs took her to the circus and she taught herself to type and handle writing up information.

Now, Lorena is a tough newspaperwoman who knows how to commiserate and join in with her male counterparts. She was on top of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and wrote many articles on it. Her fame won her the chance to cover first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, at the White House. The interview they had went on for some time and Hick and Eleanor truly bonded.

Eleanor and Franklin had several children but their marriage was not close. Eleanor had had other women in her life, one of whom is Tommie Thompson. When Hick came along, she competed for Eleanor’s attention.

Over the years, Hick and Eleanor found many way to be together via vacations and such. Franklin had his own love affair with Missy, his secretary. Missy had a stroke not long before he died and he left half of his estate for her care.

The story depicts some of the time Hick and Eleanor spent together and how much Hick loved her. There are a lot of nice descriptions of dinners, dresses, gardens and such but other than that, this book left me flat. I had hoped to learn more about the good things they did for the country through their friendship. But, instead, I was disappointed to find it was a rather rough tell all about a person in history. Not my cup of tea at all.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Before reading White Houses by Amy Bloom, I knew very little about Eleanor Roosevelt and her relationship with Lorena Hickok, a reporter and very close personal friend of Roosevelt's. Of course, after reading this novel, one can only presume what that relationship (and the one between her husband Franklin and his secretary) was like and if it were really as described in this novel. I, for one, do hope that Eleanor found the happiness it would seem the relationship brought her, even if this is a fictionalized account. I enjoyed reading the story and would highly recommend it!

Celebrity gossip has always been the rage. From who Rock Hudson was sleeping with to the breakup of Jennifer Aniston's marriage, the public devours rumors. Much has been written about Eleanor Roosevelt and her many affairs.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a trailblazer. She wasn't a First Lady who was going to sit back and just be a pretty face. She traveled the country, she met with the public, she insisted the White House live on the same food rations that the American people were using.

Lorena Hickok was a well respected journalist who lived at the White House and maintained a close relationship with the First Lady. Did this include more than just friendship? This is where White Houses by Amy Bloom comes in.

Amy Bloom has written a fictionalized account of the relationship between these two strong willed women. This is not about the politics or the struggle of hiding their true selves. This is a story about love. (Fictionalized) Eleanor and 'Hick' had a deep friendship above all things. They truly cared about each other.

They couldn't have been more different. Hick is often rough, or rather, a little self loathing. She had a hard life. Sex abuse, abandonment, all things that would have caused anyone else to just give up. Eleanor was bent on saving the world, growing up in the lap of luxury, boarding schools and a highly publicized marriage.

This story traces the (fictionalized..maybe?) story of the relationship. From the beginnings, to the deep 'in love' state, and to the end, these two women had an intense friendship that they both needed.

Bloom writes beautifully and has taken this story into places that people could only imagine. Only two people really knows what happened between Eleanor and Hick, but something it's nice to just imagine two people in love.

White House was released by Random House on February 13, 2018. Additionally, the book has been optioned for television. Congrats to Amy Bloom on this exciting news.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Amy Bloom for providing a copy of this book for review.

Eleanor Roosevelt has always been one of my favorite famous people and I was delighted to read something about her personally, even if it was a work of fiction, based on actual occurrences.

The book is well written - it is from the perspective of her long time friend and confidant, Lorena Hickok and provides a touching account of their relationship over the years in the White House and in New York.

I would have liked to read more about what Eleanor and Lorena did together and the trips they made and less about their sex life. In fact, I have two books, a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Ken Burns biography of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor, which I will now finish reading.
I thought Lorena Hickok seemed abrasive and did not do much to enhance Eleanor's life, however, no one knows her inner most thoughts, except from what Amy Bloom has read from their letters.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting book and I would read more from this author.