Madam President

The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson

By: William Hazelgrove

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

An up-close look at Edith Wilson, a first lady with unequaled responsibilities during her husband's presidency.

After President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in the fall of 1919, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, began to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the chief executive. Mrs. Wilson had had little formal education and had only been married to President Wilson for four years, yet in the tenuous peace following the end of World War I, she dedicated herself to managing the office of the president, reading all correspondence intended for her bedridden husband. Though her Oval Office authority was acknowledged in Washington circles at the time - one senator called her "the presidentress who had fulfilled the dream of suffragettes by changing her title from First Lady to Acting First Man" - her legacy as the first woman president is now largely forgotten.

William Hazelgrove's Madam President is a vivid, engaging portrait of the woman who became the acting president of the United States in 1919, months before women officially won the right to vote.

©2016 William Hazelgrove (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Who Knew?

Thoroughly enjoyed this detailed elaboration of Edith Wilson's time serving as the President of the US even though unacknowledged. The presentation is dramatic and the facts astonishing. The general public knows so little of what went on in the White House after Woodrow Wilson's stroke. This is a historically valuable piece of work.

confusing

the way the author bounced around with timelines and references of people outside the story, made this book confusing. The conversations in first person seemed made up.

A wonderful book about the first woman president.

William Hazelgrove does a extraordinary job of placing Woodrow Wilson and Edith Wilson within the context of their times. He also brings out their personalities as well as their devotion to each other. It was Edith’s devotion to Woodrow which caused her to conceal the full extent of his disability from the public and allowed her to assume the ”stewardship” of the presidency while she waited for his recovery. Likewise Burnadette Dunne’s narration was masterful.

Great Untold History

I felt disappointed the story ended up being repetitive pretty much the same story with slight variations to the point I skipped chapters to hear the end, which it’s self was repetitive.

Good read for politifiles

The back and forth in timeline probably works better in print reading. Was informative about the petticoat government. Great read for our current situation with the 47th president