GOOD NEWS DAY

[cornhobble]

Apparently, Eleanor Roosevelt was totally gay.

Here's a quote from a letter she wrote to longtime ~friend~, journalist Lorena Hickok. March 7, 1933:

Hick darling,
All day I've thought of you & another birthday I will be with you, & yet tonite you sounded so far away & formal. Oh! I want to put my arms around you. I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort to me. I look at it and think she does love me, or I wouldn't be wearing it.

OMG. She also, according to wikipedia, wore a blue sapphire ring during her husband's inauguration. Another quote:

I wish I could lie down beside you tonight & take you in my arms.

I already knew Eleanor Roosevelt was awesome, but I didn't realize she was THIS awesome. :D Day. Made.

Comments

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

Oh, you should have just asked me. I could have told you all about Eleanor and Lorena. It's an open secret :)

[cornhobble.livejournal.com]

Shit, really? TELL ME EVERYTHING~~

I'm actually on my way to the library to pick up a book about her. :D I am woefully uneducated in matters of queer history, should probably fix that. Apparently Jane Addams was too!

[kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com]

Here's some books to check out:

Empty Without You: The Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok edited by Rodger Streitmatter

Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1933 and Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume 2, The Defining Years, 1933-1938 written by Blanche Wiesen Cook

The Life of Lorena Hickok: E.R.’s Friend, by Doris Faber (this one denies their relationship, but gives good information about Lorena herself)


Also check out the play Lorena Hickok & Eleanor Roosevelt: A Love Story written by Pat Bond

[cornhobble.livejournal.com]

AWESOME. Thank you so much for the recommendations! Almost all of these are available at the library. \o/

[rellan.livejournal.com]

Yep, Eleanor played for the girls team. I think that's part of the reason she didn't mind hubby's mistress.

[cornhobble.livejournal.com]

lol damn, DOES EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS BUT ME? This is what I get for not bothering to learn anything about the Roosevelts beyond 'oh yeah there were in the White House that one time.' It's like a soap opera, shit.