She would never again be content with purely private satisfactions, and for the rest of her life she would look at the injustice of the world, feel pity for the human condition, and ask what she could do about it. She started off with the normal prejudices of her class, but over the years formed strong and endurable relationships with many different types of people, who she would never have associated with in her early years, more so with Black people. This book is a very detailed examination of Eleanor’s life and her constant growth. This was the beginning of her passion for helping and aiding the dispossessed. It was here that Eleanor started to shine – and importantly Marie Souvestre gave Eleanor an interest in the wider world. The author explores these early parental relationships in some detail and the effect it had on Eleanor and her future relationships, more so with Franklin where she expected an ideal that could never be met.Įleanor started to establish self-confidence and independence when she went to a boarding school in England that was under the tutelage of Marie Souvestre. He died when Eleanor was only ten years old, her mother had died two years prior. Also, he was an incorrigible drunkard who had to be institutionalized by his family on a few occasions. She adored her father who kept promising lavish outings and gifts, but these hardly ever amounted to very much. Her mother more or less rejected her and seemed to find her a nuisance more than anything. We follow Eleanor from her troubled upbringing with her very dysfunctional parents. The author met Eleanor in the early 1940s when he was active in several youth movements (Eleanor with her wide-ranging interests was always intrigued by the ideas of young people). Asked at her press conference if she had any such plans, she shook her head and said simply, “None along that line”.Īlthough the title of the book is “Eleanor and Franklin” this is mostly about Eleanor. An American Legion commander… suggested she make her contribution to the war effort by “keeping quiet for the duration”.

Eleanor and franklin by joseph p lash