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Lorena Hickok (1893 - 1968)
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 Empty
Without You : The Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena
Hickok by Eleanor Roosevelt, Lorena A. Hickok, Rodger
Streitmatter (Editor)
In June 1932, pioneering newswoman Lorena Hickok
was assigned to FDR's presidential campaign by the Associated
Press. To her surprise, she found Eleanor Roosevelt taking special
notice of her. As their friendship grew, Hickok's devotion to the
future first lady so overcame her scruples that she sent drafts of
her articles to the head of Roosevelt's campaign for approval.
After the election, the women began the passionate
correspondence--cheerful and diary-like on Eleanor's side, and
stormy on Lorena's--presented here. As suggestive as these letters
seemed when they came to light in 1978, they don't demonstrate
conclusively whether the women had a sexual affair, only that they
became, for three or four years, each other's "dearest."
They kissed and caressed each other and dreamt of a life together
away from Washington. What is more significant is that these years
marked Eleanor Roosevelt's transformation from a supportive wife
to an independent political force, and the letters show Hickok's
advice and encouragement to be essential to that transformation.
Only with Hickok's support did the first lady gain confidence for
her remarkable achievements in race relations and expanded roles
for women. Good footnotes supplement the text, but the bland
introductory notes can be skipped in favor of the women's story in
their own words. --Regina Marler, Amazon.com
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By Alexandria
North, ©1999
Excerpt:
Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) and Lorena Hickok began
their decades-long relationship in 1933, before FDR's
inauguration. Lorena, or Hick (as ER called her) was a highly
successful reporter, and ER was about to become First Lady. They
shared an emotional and romantic relationship that peaked in
passion and later developed into a friendship that endured until
death...
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To Harry L. Hopkins, Florence, Alabama June 6,
1934
Excerpt:
And all over the state, in the rural areas, the
story is the same--an illiterate, wretched people, undernourished,
with standards of living so low that, once on relief, they are
quite willing to stay there the rest of their lives. It's a mess...
Also: To
Harry L. Hopkins, Memphis to Denver, June 11, 1934
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Excerpt:
According to Rodger Streitmatter, editor of Empty
Without You: The Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena
Hickok The First Lady placed a picture of Lorena above the
mantel in her bedroom, "so that she could kiss it as soon as
she rose each morning and just before she went to bed each night.
Their friendship lasted 30 years and 18 boxes of letters, 300
letters in all, exchanged between the two women were left as a
testament to their love for each other...
This page hosts three photos of Eleanor
and Lorena.
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Names Index:
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