The First Ladies

By: Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

Narrated by: Robin Miles, Tavia Gilbert

The Instant New York Times Bestseller!

A novel about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune—an unlikely friendship that changed the world, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian.

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows she becomes a celebrity, revered by titans of business and recognized by U.S. Presidents. Eleanor Roosevelt herself is awestruck and eager to make her acquaintance. Initially drawn together because of their shared belief in women’s rights and the power of education, Mary and Eleanor become fast friends confiding their secrets, hopes and dreams—and holding each other’s hands through tragedy and triumph.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president, the two women begin to collaborate more closely, particularly as Eleanor moves toward her own agenda separate from FDR, a consequence of the devastating discovery of her husband’s secret love affair. Eleanor becomes a controversial First Lady for her outspokenness, particularly on civil rights. And when she receives threats because of her strong ties to Mary, it only fuels the women’s desire to fight together for justice and equality.

This is the story of two different, yet equally formidable, passionate, and committed women, and the way in which their singular friendship helped form the foundation for the modern civil rights movement.

Fantastic story...in the book and of the authors

I enjoyed the way this book was written. Fact and fiction work great together.

interesting

When I first looked at the title of this book, I thought it was going to contain a collection of short stories about the various First Ladies. Instead, it is a story of only one First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, and her friendship with the famous black educator, Mary McLeod Bethune. Together they fought to have black men and women appointed to various government positions in the Roosevelt administration and do away with segregation in the military. The other key cause they fought for was the passing of legislation to give the federal government jurisdiction over the lynching of black people. They were successful in the first goal but unsuccessful in the second two. So they started a campaign of information against lynching. It is interesting that Eleanor a white woman Democrat was a friend of a black woman Republican. The story was interesting. I was aware of most of the historical facts but its presentation as a story of historical fiction made it very readable. My only complaint was I felt the story dragged at times.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is fourteen hours and thirty-three minutes. Robin Miles and Tavia Gilbert do a good job narrating the book.

Phenomenal story!

The authors did a fantastic job bringing these two women's stories to life. What a friendship... what a partnership they had! Together they were a force for good, a force for equality. Many lives were made better by their work. I rated the performance lower than the quality of the book because the accents through me off. They varied by chapter -- Eleanor sounded like Mary at times and vice versa. The accents were not consistent. Also, none of the voices sounded like they belonged to an older Black woman-- they were kind British- ish. 🤦🏾‍♀️Not quite right and it was distracting to the storyline.

Friendship at its finest

I recommend that everyone reads this book as it gives insight into the past and present issues of race. I enjoy learning about what I am ignorant about. I think it was an excellent perspective hearing the topics discussed through friends. I wish more books allowed tough conversations to be explored and discussed in this manner.

Story of true friendship

This was a phenomenal book; educational and inspirational. Great job ladies, thank you for this amazing gift!