I loved reading this book! I enjoy discovering parts of our history that I was never aware of. An educational, heartbreaking, and sometimes humorous book.. Alice Roosevelt was definitely one of a kind.

Alice Roosevelt is my favorite first child. I love that she was a bit of a wild child. However I believe that she acted that way simply because she wanted her father's attention. And the only way she got it was to act the way she did. Because she looked like her mother and was name after her mother. No one in her new family wanted to use it. She may have looked like her mother but she was indeed her father's daughter in most other ways.

And she had a step-mother who if she didn't hate her at least resented her. And this book tells the story of Alice's childhood and young adulthood and her the early days of her marriage. A marriage this reader thinks she rushed into to get away from her step mother.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Theodore Roosevelt was president at the start of the Celebrity Age, and at the start of much of the modern image of the presidency. The White House was just beginning to be called that (rather than the Executive Mansion); Roosevelt’s renovations on the building created the West Wing. And his daughter, Alice, created one model for presidential relatives over the next century.

Aged 17 when her father became president, she was a gift to the Washington press corps. Photogenic and charming, she was nicknamed “Princess Alice” in the papers. She was invited to Edward VII’s coronation (she did not attend), and the German kaiser had her christen his yacht. Her hobnobbing with royalty didn’t sit well with her father’s man-of-the-people pose, but he could do nothing to stop his daughter’s fame.

.....full review at https://reason.com/2024/04/21/how-to-be-the-presidents-kid/

Shelley Fraser Mickle brings Alice Roosevelt Longworth to life in this fascinating, compelling, and riveting biography of Theodore Roosevelt’s forgotten and most famous child who would later be called the “other Washington Monument” for her seventy-plus years spent in the capital of the United States. Mickle brings her fictional writing skills to this biography, focusing on Alice’s experiences, struggles, and her triumphs as a Roosevelt and a political doyenne in Washington, D.C., throughout the twentieth century. Drawing on primary sources, Mickle focuses on Alice’s relationships, particularly with her father, aunt, stepmother, daughter, and husband, and these relationships expand the reader’s understanding of Alice’s world. Mickle’s biography is immersive and fascinating, full of incredible historical figures whose interactions or understandings of Alice, from her childhood through the White House and her political matron years, inform readers about this fascinating woman and her incredible political life. Mickle’s organization of this book relies on concise, readable chapters that bring various phases of Alice’s life and the events from that period to light. Mickle’s biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth is a fascinating insight into her life, the twentieth century, and the private lives of the Roosevelt political dynasty that readers are sure to enjoy.

Shelley Fraser Mickle White House Wild Child How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America, Charlesbridge, Imagine,October 2023.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.
Shelley Fraser Mickle has drawn together a wealth of information, insights and speculation about the lives of the women and children associated with Theodore Roosevelt, as well as the man himself. How much is insight and how much is speculation is one of the problems I have in assessing what claims to be the focus of this book: Alice Roosevelt and the explanation for her personality and behaviour. She is portrayed as a ‘wild child’ of the White House, the publicity she engendered because of her appearance and behaviour referred to from early in the book. Her birth, the death of her mother two days afterwards, her father’s refusal to use her name because of its reminder of her dead mother, the loss of her wet nurse, her shortened residence with Bamie (Theodore Roosevelt’s sister) in her early years, her holidays with her maternal grandparents and her eventual permanent home with her father, stepmother Edith, and siblings are variously used as an explanation for her behaviour. I found the psychological explanations rather contrived and unnecessary. The book became more enjoyable when I discounted these, viewed much of the subjects’ proposed thoughts as speculation, and concentrated on the material that could be supported with citations.

Here, Fraser Mickle has done the context and family proud. She has written an engaging narrative which brings the Roosevelts and the society, political, economic and social in which they moved, into strong focus. This period of American history was largely unknown to me, and Fraser Mickle not only increased my understanding, but did so in a relatively entertaining way. That T.R., as his family referred to him, was really the focus of the book, seconded only by Bamie whose ever present vigilance both was accepted by Edith and rejected is starkly apparent. Bamie’s smart sidestepping potential eviction from her brother’s life is a delight to read about – even her own marriage and birth of her son did not keep her from the political world of Roosevelt’s governorship, vice presidency and eventual presidency. Alongside this political endeavour Alice’s interventions appear dramatic, often unlikeable, and usually ineffectual. Although they garnered her the limelight, her father’s attention was easily diverted. Alice’s presence during her father’s surgery after an accident is a distinction – it is noted that her toughness and burgeoning interest in politics was at this time appreciated.

Alice appears to have depended upon her beauty, her waywardness and inability to become a dutiful White House daughter, or even a loyal one, to engender the publicity it seems she craved. Her behaviour, looked at from the perspective of a young woman determined to adopt a role for herself that gave her a status beyond that of a White House daughter, whose worth was unrecognised by her father leaves room for sympathy. Fraser Mickle provides a plausible picture of this young woman as rebelling against the confines of the society in which she matured.

There are asides to Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt which, while fragmentary are a welcome addition to this account of American politics from Theodore Rosevelt’s first marriage, the birth of Alice, his second marriage, more children and through his time as governor, vice president, presidency after McKinley’s death, and eventual election in 1904. Throughout this period runs the thread of Alice’s life, her relationships with her family, and her desires and later, her search for a husband. Her political endeavours appear to be spasmodic, although President Roosevelt used her ability to court publicity to advantage on several occasions. Alice’s life becomes the focus of the work, together with Paulina, her daughter, and later, her daughter, Joanna in the later chapters. There are political references to Alice’s distain for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt which continue her long held animosity to her cousins.

The epilogue outlines Shelley Fraser Mickle’s interest in the Roosevelts and her admiration for Alice. She refers to her links with the Roosevelts through what she sees as her similar traits. Her explanation for the work resonates with me, although I maintain the concerns I noted at the beginning of this review. The bibliography includes books well worth following up, and some citations for each chapter.

I received this book as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

The author clearly did their research and wrote a very good book. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the life of Alice.

This is a very interesting read about Teddy Roosevelt's somewhat rebellious wild child daughter Alice, who for her time was quite scandalous. Alice was a media darling, giving them plenty to write about. Rebelling against her father's lack of attention, she went out of her way to be noticed. Granted what she did, the antics she pulled would be nothing by today's standards, but for her time they were deemed outrageous!
This is a good detailed look into this woman who caused such a sensation, and whom a nation called "Princess"". I really enjoyed learning of Alice, I of course knew who the Roosevelts were, but had never read anything about them in detail so this helped to put character to the names I had heard throughout the years of reading history. I love traveling back in time through the books I read and I especially like the time period of Alice's time in the White House and beyond.
Very interesting, enjoyable, the author writes in such a manner that it is easy to stay interested and the pace flows nicely along. I would recommend to history buffs and those who just like rebellious wild children of prominent public figures. I give 4 stars for this book.
Thank you to Charlesbridge, and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Alice Roosevelt was quite a woman. Mickle's book is thoroughly researched, but at times it was dry to read. I think I was expecting more of a novelization. If you are interested in the Roosevelts and in that time period you would enjoy it.

TR once said I can run the country or I can control Alice but I cannot do both.
Wild Child is an apt description of Alice Roosevelt. A rebel from a youngster she also grew up to be one of the power players in DC.
I enjoyed reading more about this ribald woman who I think just wanted nothing more than her father’s love and attention.

An absolutely fascinating read about Theodore Roosevelt, his sibling Barbie and his family life with the main feature being his eldest child, Alice. I grew up with the tale of Alice and her blue gown, her beauty, and how she would demurely be seated at White House functions long after the Roosevelt had left the White House. Alert: author Shelley Frazier Mickle sets the record straight in this well researched book. The dysfunction of TR when his first wife died after childbirth, the subsequent handling of the stepmother of Alice and the redeeming Aunt Barbie who raised her as a baby until she was reunited with TR and his second wife. Oh, enjoy the antics of this child and the Gilded Age Society but be prepared for the rearing of this intelligent young woman. I would have liked to see more dates within the story because it was confusing as to several of the incidents mentioned. Readers of history, the Roosevelts and Presidential History plus child psychologists will benefit from this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Charlesbridge Publishers for an ARC of this book; this is my honest opinion.

She carried a snake called Emily Spinach in her handbag, smoked on the roof of the White House and hid little bottles of whiskey up her gloves! Young Alice Roosevelt loved to shock people, especially her father and step-mother. Unfortunately, all this was a grab for attention from her emotionally distanced father, although she finally won his admiration, and his love, although she probably didn’t realise it.

This is a riveting psychological study of the young Alice, and her troubled relationship with her father. He found it difficult to love her, because her mother died shortly after giving birth to her. He couldn’t even say her name until she was practically grown up. Luckily, Alice did have the unconditional love of Bamie, her wise Aunt, but the lack of love of her father and step-mother had tragic consequences.

Shelley Fraser Mickle writes about her subject with great enthuseasm and sensitivity, and it is easy to see why Alice Roosevelt Longworth still remains afascinating character.

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781623545499
PRICE $27.99 (USD)
PAGES 256

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an advanced copy of this book. I read it and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Alice Roosevelt had a tragic beginning. Firstborn daughter to Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Lee, her mother died a few days after her birth of Bright’s Disease. Of note historically, her grandmother, and Teddy’s mother, died the same day. It was Valentine’s Day 1884. Roosevelt wrote in his diary “The light has gone out of my life.” So distraught at his loss, Theodore hands off his daughter to his sister, Bamie, asking her to raise Alice, and heads to the Badlands where he owns a ranch.

I’ve read a lot of Roosevelt history, including other biographies of Alice Roosevelt, the “wild child” of Theodore, who could command the press just like her father and create news wherever she went. What makes this book even more interesting is the look at how influential Teddy’s older sister, Bamie, was on him and his firstborn daughter. Bamie was a shrewd politico in her own right and was the sole caregiver to Alice the first three years of her life.

It is said and written about in many places that Teddy Roosevelt never spoke to his daughter about her mother and never even called her by name, always using nicknames. Imagine never talking to your child about their other parent. Any stories Alice heard about her mother came from Bamie or her maternal grandparents and her mother’s sisters, but they were few and far in-between. Imagine what that does to one’s psyche.

When Theodore Roosevelt got married to Edith Carow, he asked Bamie if he and Edith could raise Alice which just broke her heart. Edith wanted Alice raised with her half-brothers and sisters when the time came (they wouldn’t have to wait long: Ted Jr. was born not long after the marriage). But the weird thing is that Edith treated Alice differently than with her own kids, which made Alice feel even more confused and left out. She felt like she wasn’t part of the family, that she didn’t belong, that the only way to get her father’s attention was to act out.

And act out she did. There are the many stories of Alice’s exploits once her father ascended to the presidency. The small green snake she carried with her wherever she went named Emily Spinach, the smoking in public at a time when a lady simply did not do that, riding around in a motor car. Shocking!

TR would get mad at Alice for stealing some of the spotlight, yet he also used her in several cases to deflect the press from his behind-the-scenes machinations. Alice had no clue she was being used; she just thought her father was finally paying some attention to her. The press called her “Princess Alice” and she ate the attention up because she wasn’t getting enough attention at home.

I found out new things about Alice Roosevelt in this book, and the further insight into her and Theodore’s relationship with Bamie was a plus. Highly recommend for anyone interested in Presidential history or enjoys reading about a woman ahead of her time.

White House Wild Child is a fascinating historical biography of Alice Lee Roosevelt daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Alice Lee was born on the day her mother died. Her father so stricken with grief, effectively removed any piece of evidence that she existed from his and Alice's life. Alice was named after her mother, but her father never said her name, often referring to her as baby and sister once he remarried. She was raised in the beginning of her life by her Aunt Baimie, Teddy's sister. She was raised with love by her and spoiled by her mother's family. But she craved the love and attention she felt her father did not show her and as a result set out to be the center of attention good and bad.

Alice Lee became a media sensation after her father became the president. She accompanied her father President Theodore Roosevelt to Germany where the kaiser asked her to christen his yacht. She flirted with men and was determined to snare a very rich man. Alice married Nick Longworth at the age of nineteen. It was not the marriage she had hoped for, her husband was a drinker and a womanizer.

Alice Lee is remembered for her sarcastic and sometimes brutal remarks. She had a pillow embroidered with “If you can’t say something good about someone sit right her by me.”

This is the first book I have read about the life of Teddy Roosevelt and his daughter, Alice Lee. It is a fascinating story of both their lives. In spite of their station in society, it was full of sadness and the way the dealt with their grief. The book is only 256 pages, but it felt much longer due to all the history which it covered. I really enjoy reading and learning about the presidents and their families.

White House Wild Child
How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America
by Shelley Fraser Mickle
Pub Date 03 Oct 2023
Charlesbridge,Imagine
Biographies & Memoirs| Nonfiction \(Adult\)


A copy of White House Wild Child was provided to me by Charlesbridge imagine, and Netgalley:


“I can do one of two things, I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both.”—Theodore Roosevelt


Alice Roosevelt mesmerized the world with her antics and beauty during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, from 1901 to 1909.



Alice was known for carrying a gun in her purse, a copy of the Constitution, and a snake. After her father told her she couldn't smoke under his roof, she climbed to the top of the White House and smoked there. In terms of public obsession, she predated Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy as the most famous woman in America.



She continued to push against social norms and pull political sway behind the curtain of privilege and access even as her popularity grew. Both the social and political worlds were hypnotized by her acerbic wit and outspoken tendencies.



This superbly researched and powerfully written book places the reader in the time and place of Alice and asks what it would have been like to be a strong-willed powerful woman of that era. This historical celebration of Alice's life draws from both primary and secondary sources.


I give White House Wild Child five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

A very well researched and written biography about Alice Roosevelt Longworth - the first "wild" child in the White House. Jenna and Barbara Bush had NOTHING on Alice.

While she grew up as the apple of her father's eye, Alice was the black sheep of the Roosevelt family. She smoked, She drank. She shot pistols. She carried around a snake. She was everything that polite society was not and.....I think I love her.

We need more Alice Roosevelt's in our lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book about my new idol.

I really enjoyed the book White House Wild Child by Shelley Fraser Mickle. I knew nothing about Alice Roosevelt, the eldest daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. I actually knew little about the entire Roosevelt family, but this book was fascinating to me. It drew the curtains back on a period of history that I knew little about and brought me more understanding of life in the Victorian era here in the United States. I found myself both chuckling & saddened by her life story. I’ve already recommended this book to friends & family. (Thank you NetGalley and CharlesBridge for providing me with a copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.)

Alice Roosevelt was ahead of her time and a truly interesting woman to read about. She lives up to the Wild Child title and kept her family on their toes. Shelley Fraser Mickle's writing kept me enthralled with Alice's escapades.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

White House Wild Child was an interesting look at the life of Alice Roosevelt, the eldest daughter of TR. Alice’s longing for her father’s love and approval is the driving force of her scandalous (for the times) behavior like smoking cigarettes, galavanting about without a chaperone, and attending salons with a snake draped on her body. When she didn’t have her father’s attention, she had the attention of the nation who bought newspapers with her photo on them and flocked to political events she attended with TR.

As fascinating as Alice’s story is that of her cousin Eleanor, and her aunt Bamie who essentially ran her brother TR’s campaign and presidency as well as FDR’s. I agree with Alice, as referenced in the book, what we really need is a book about Bamie. These strong, independent women were a force in their time and it’s interesting to imagine the impact they could have had if they weren’t forced by the times to take a backseat to the men around them.

I would have liked more about the years after TR’s presidency but recognize that in leaving the White House, Alice left the spotlight. Overall, I enjoyed this book and wish to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

She was a media sensation, with Gibson Girl looks. The newspapers called her Princess Alice. Her signature blue dress inspired the song Alice Blue Gown. She accompanied her father President Theodore Roosevelt to Germany where the kaiser asked her to christen his yacht; the Meteor Waltz was published in Germany with her image on the sheet music cover. She was the society first woman to smoke in public; Lucky Strike cigarettes ran an ad with her promoting them.

Alice Lee Roosevelt shocked her family and society by pushing the boundaries.

Her mother died on the day of her birth, breaking her father’s heart so deeply that he ran away to his ranch in the West, leaving her under his sister Bamie’s care. As a girl, she was a tomboy, running amok with a gang of boys. She was spoiled by her maternal grandparents. She had a life-long battle of wills with her step-mother Edith. Alice wore a green snake to social gatherings. She flirted with men, determined to snare a rich man. At nineteen she married, only to realize that her husband was a drinker and a womanizer. She was a bad mother but a good grandmother.

Alice Roosevelt is remembered for her sardonic remarks. She had a pillow embroidered with “If you can’t say something good about someone sit right her by me.”

I have read many books on TR and a biography of Edith, and was interested in learning more about Alice. This biography would be a good choice if you are not familiar with TR and his family.

Most of the book covers the Roosevelt family and TR’s career. The author concludes that Alice was emotionally damaged by not having experienced warm parental love. Bamie loved her, but Edith insisted that Alice live with TR. But Alice was the image of her mother, a constant reminder to TR of his loss. Edith was an unrelenting perfectionist, and Alice responded by rebellion.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

A good introduction to Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt -- not too deep into the details of her life, and at times it felt like the happenings around her were being focused on more than her, but overall an interesting read.