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Ellen Feldman
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Lucy: A Novel Hardcover – January 1, 2003

by Ellen Feldman (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 152 ratings
A fictional account of Franklin Roosevelt's romance with Eleanor's social secretary, Lucy Mercer, follows their pre-World War I affair, its impact on his marriage, and their reacquaintance years later.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W W Norton & Co Inc
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393051536
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393051537
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A "super read," claims the publicist, this first novel re-creates FDR's love affair with his wife's social secretary.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Feldman humanizes two icons and sheds light on an enigmatic figure of history in this novel detailing the love affair between Franklin Roosevelt and his wife's secretary, Lucy Mercer Rutherford. Told from Rutherford's viewpoint, the story traces their affair from when she is initially hired as Eleanor's personal secretary in the days before World War I and ends on Rutherford's deathbed in 1948. The affair, which terminates when his advisors fear that his wished-for divorce could ruin his presidential aspirations, is renewed 20 years later during FDR's presidency, when he seeks Lucy's companionship to relieve the stresses of World War II. With Lucy, Rutherford has created a Whartonesque heroine: an intelligent and perceptive woman stymied by the social restrictions of her time. Eleanor serves as a peripheral character, emerging as a woman driven by her convictions and her need to right the unending wrongs of the world, while Roosevelt is a charismatic figure who is unsure of why any obstacle--social mores, political opponents, or polio--should impede his desires. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (January 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393051536
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393051537
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.26 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 152 ratings

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Ellen Feldman

Ellen Feldman

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
152 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-written and engaging, with one review noting it kept them interested throughout. Moreover, they appreciate the historical accuracy, with one customer mentioning it's based on records. Additionally, the book provides fascinating insights into Franklin and Eleanor's story, and customers like the character development, with one review highlighting the compelling characters.

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10 customers mention "Insight"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, appreciating its portrayal of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's love affair and its historical elements.

"...It helps to understand the whole background of these fascinating principals...." Read more

"...It was interesting to see behind the scenes in that political era, especially because of what FDR’s legacy left to this country...." Read more

"This is the fictional account of a very real love affair, told by "the other woman." The relationship, by itself was not an uncommon one,..." Read more

"I enjoyed the historical elements of this story as much as the love story...." Read more

8 customers mention "Historical accuracy"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the historical accuracy of the book, with one customer noting it is well researched and based on records.

"This book was well researched. By adding to the bones of historical facts, Ellen Feldman fleshed out the story to convert it into a novel...." Read more

"...Feldman’s story was well written, and based on records that give credence to much of it. However, I did not warm to the characters...." Read more

"...THE BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN AND HISTORICAL, IT KEPT MY INTEREST THROUGHOUT." Read more

"Very good read, a really interesting read about one of our greatest presidents. I recommend this to history buffs and romantics." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing style"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book.

"...Feldman’s story was well written, and based on records that give credence to much of it. However, I did not warm to the characters...." Read more

"...Ms. Feldman writes beautifully, with a quiet passion and a certain delicacy. Her characters are well drawn and true...." Read more

"...THE BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN AND HISTORICAL, IT KEPT MY INTEREST THROUGHOUT." Read more

"Very good read, a really interesting read about one of our greatest presidents. I recommend this to history buffs and romantics." Read more

7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one mentioning it kept them interested throughout.

"What a great book!..." Read more

"...Still, it was an okay read." Read more

"...THE BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN AND HISTORICAL, IT KEPT MY INTEREST THROUGHOUT." Read more

"...the FDR home and museum in New York's Hudson Valley, I was compelled to read this book, which I spotted in the gift shop...." Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book.

"...a novelist’s insight to bear on the connection of these three compelling characters...." Read more

"...Her characters are well drawn and true. There is a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt at the end of the book that moved me very much...." Read more

"REAL PEOPLE and their lives….real lives….real feelings. The inner workings of an AMERICAN FAMILY….in the public eye." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • J. Adamcyk
    5.0 out of 5 stars An era when the media did not probe into personal lives of Presidents
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    This book was well researched. By adding to the bones of historical facts, Ellen Feldman fleshed out the story to convert it into a novel. It helps to understand the whole background of these fascinating principals. Perhaps it was because I had just revisited FDR's Hyde Park Home and library this past spring,that this book had such deep resonance. In this era when the media knows everything and tells everything about the president, this relationship would never have come to fruition. Across the backdrop of the World Wars, Lucy gives a love story which is never smarmy. She does not whine,or complain, but frankly states, how her relationship with Franklin endured over the years,against a turbulent time in our history. Owing to her support, she gave Franklin strength which he never could tap into through his marriage to Eleanor. As no one could ever know what transpired during her visits with Franklin in the White House and at Warm Springs.........Ms. Feldman's background as an historian lends credibility to what really may have been. I didn't want to finish the book, as I knew how it would end.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Laurel-Rain Snow
    4.0 out of 5 stars A LONG LOVE AFFAIR...
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    On the eve of World War I, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt, fiercely ambitious and still untouched by polio, falls in love with his wife’s social secretary, Lucy Mercer. Eleanor stumbles on their letters and divorce is discussed, but honor and ambition win out. Franklin promises he will never see Lucy again.

    But Franklin and Lucy do meet again, and again they fall in love. As he prepares to run for an unprecedented third term and lead America into war, Franklin turns to Lucy for the warmth and unconditional approval Eleanor is unable to give.

    Ellen Feldman brings a novelist’s insight to bear on the connection of these three compelling characters. Franklin and Lucy did finally meet, across the divide of his illness and political ascendancy, her marriage and widowhood. They fell in love again. As he prepared to run for an unprecedented third term and lead America into war, Franklin turned to Lucy for the warmth and unconditional approval Eleanor was unable to give.

    Drawing on recently discovered materials to re-create the voice of a woman who played a crucial but silent role in the Roosevelt presidency, Lucy is a remarkably sensitive exploration of the private lives behind a public marriage. Reading group guide included.

    My Thoughts:

    A love story between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lucy Mercer, Lucy offers a peek into a long and forbidden union sustained despite the efforts to be secretive. Apparently the participants were not that discreet. There was evidence to suggest that Eleanor was well-aware of the relationship, but did nothing to separate them until a critical moment when FDR wanted a divorce. His political ambitions would have been at risk, so it didn’t happen.

    It was interesting to see behind the scenes in that political era, especially because of what FDR’s legacy left to this country. It tells the reader how greatness can still be flawed by the humanity of the characters.

    Feldman’s story was well written, and based on records that give credence to much of it. However, I did not warm to the characters. For me, four-star read.
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  • Jo Ann M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars "Lucy"...an amazing woman!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    What a great book! I had previously read "Franklin and Eleanor: An Unusual Marriage" but "Lucy" filled me in with even more details of this complicated marriage and I learned much about Lucy Mercer and the sacrifices she made. I think everyone who read "Franklin and Eleanor..." should read "Lucy" as well to get a complete story.
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  • Jana L.Perskie
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Love Affair That Impacted History!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    This is the fictional account of a very real love affair, told by "the other woman." The relationship, by itself was not an uncommon one, although the characters could have been created by Edith Wharton. They are east coast, upper-class, elite; patricians to-the-manor-born. It is really not an epic love story like that of Josephine and Napoleon, or Cleopatra and Antony, or even the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Fortunately, for history's sake, no one gave up a throne...or the presidency for this love. The three people who comprise the love triangle, however, are of epic proportion - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt and Lucy Mercer. And each of these people, as individuals, and in their relationship to one another, had a major role to play in the course of world events, from the time that Lucy met Franklin and Eleanor, just before World War I, through the Great Depression, until the end of Franklin's life, right before the end of World War II.
    While reading this novel, I initially thought it to be short on substance - more than fluff, but lacking in weight - perhaps it needed more historical detail. But after reading the book, I was left with a feeling of deep sadness at the poignancy of the love that existed between Lucy and Franklin, and between Eleanor and Franklin. Ellen Feldman has given us Lucy's voice, a woman's voice from a time long ago, (for some reason I remember Lily Bart from Edith Wharton's "House of Mirth"). And that voice tells us the history of a love which is the center of her life - so that the history of the world becomes peripheral. And that one historical viewpoint becomes unique and compelling.
    I admire Ms. Feldmans work tremendously. I also admire her courage in writing a historical novel of merit about such famous, public figures. So much has been written about them already - yet few have touched on this subject. Ms. Feldman writes beautifully, with a quiet passion and a certain delicacy. Her characters are well drawn and true.
    There is a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt at the end of the book that moved me very much. She says, "[If you] cannot meet the need of someone whom [you] dearly love...you must learn to allow someone else to meet the need, without bitterness or envy, and accept it."
    38 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Sylvia
    3.0 out of 5 stars After finishing No Ordinary Time by the great Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    After finishing No Ordinary Time by the great Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, I found Lucy a real disappointment. Not that I compared the 2 books because there is no comparison. I appreciate Lucy's love for FDR, I really do, and vice versa. However, I resented her referring to Eleanor in a criticizing manner, no matter how slight and sneaky the thoughts and comments were and I feel it was more a reflection of Lucy's jealous character than insulting Eleanor to make herself look the better, more suitable woman for FDR. The facts are she had an affair with Eleanor's husband and father of her 5 children. So somewhere I don't think Lucy had the right to mention anything negative about Eleanor at any time, any place, any where. Because that is all part of the affair....the betrayed spouse. And dealing with that. It is betrayal no matter how you slice it and it doesn't work. For a while it does, and then one day it doesn't. In saying that, Lucy did bring a dimension to FDR's life which were unfulfilled and I appreciate that. It ticked all the boxes for the traditional love affair...the kind in the movies we've all seen, and I wager some have experienced. I acknowledge Lucy's part that she played in the lives of FDR & ER, and it was an important one and part of the history which made that time "No ordinarily time" . I have tremendous respect for the Roosevelts and have done since a very young age, visiting their homes in Hyde Park as a little girl. The book is worth the read, as another view of a situation is valuable, and then reader may draw their own conclusions.
    One person found this helpful
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