9781982141967

1982141964

1668031973

9781668031971

9781668031995

"The stories of Sara Delano and Jennie Jerome, before and after birthing their sons, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, consecutively."-- Provided by publisher.

Born into upper-class America in the same year, 1854, Sara Delano and Jennie Jerome refused to settle into predictable, sheltered lives as little-known wives to prominent men. In the mid-19th century, the industrial vigor of the United States of America was catapulting the republic towards the Gilded Age. Sara and Jennie, raised with privilege but subject to the constraints of women's roles at the time, learned how to take control of their destinies: Sara in the prosperous Hudson Valley, and Jennie in the glittering world of Imperial London. A vivacious extrovert, Jennie married Lord Randolph Churchill; her deft maneuvering helped not only her husband but, once she was widowed, her son, Winston. Deeply conventional Sara Delano married a man as old as her father, but once widowed helped Franklin, her only child, acquire the skills he needed to become a successful politician. Gray argues that Jennie and Sara are remarkable individuals who were key in shaping the characters of the sons who adored them-- and in preparing them for leadership on the world stage. -- adapted from jacket

Preface: The pageantry of power 1867

Part 1: A gilded start. Jerome flings and flash 1854-1867 ; Delano decorum and discipline 1854-1870 ; High-spirited Jennie 1867-1873 ; Self-assured Sara 1870-1880

Part 2: Courtship and marriage. Jennie's "very dangerous affair" 1873-1874 ; Toxic Churchill dynamics 1874-1880 ; Roosevelt harmony 1880-1890

Part 3: Maternal bonds. Jennie's dream crumbles 1880-1886 ; Churchills: love and death 1887-1895 ; Sara's "dear, dear boy" 1890-1903

Part 4: Making her own choices. Jennie: "no wire unpulled" 1895-1899 ; Jennie goes to war 1899-1901 ; Sara acquires a "daughter" 1901-1904 ; The ups and downs of Churchill marriages 1901-1912 ; Sara stays close 1904-1913

Part 5: The final years. Jennie: "on the wrong side of the ladder" 1912-1918 ; Sara's old-fashioned values 1913-1919 ; Jennie's "best foot forward" 1918-1921 ; Sara: "our dear invalid" 1921-1931 ; Sara: America's matriarch 1931-1941

Afterword: After lives.

Mothers of presidents > United States > Biography.

Mothers of prime ministers > Great Britain > Biography.