Nellie Taft

The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era

by Carl Sferrazza Anthony

On Sale: 02/21/2006

Nellie Taft

The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era

by Carl Sferrazza Anthony

On Sale: 02/21/2006

Format:

About the Book

On the morning of William Howard Taft's inauguration, Nellie Taft publicly expressed that theirs would be a joint presidency by shattering precedent and demanding that she ride alongside her husband down Pennsylvania Avenue, a tradition previously held for the outgoing president. In an era before Eleanor Roosevelt, this progressive First Lady was an advocate for higher education and partial suffrage for women, and initiated legislation to improve working conditions for federal employees. She smoked, drank, and gambled without regard to societal judgment, and she freely broke racial and class boundaries.

Drawing from previously unpublished diaries, a lifetime of love letters between Will and Nellie, and detailed family correspondence and recollections, critically acclaimed presidential family historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony develops a riveting portrait of Nellie Taft as one of the strongest links in the series of women -- from Abigail Adams to Hillary Rodham Clinton -- often critically declared "copresidents."

Critical Praise

“Biographer gives credit to lesser-known first lady, Nellie Taft.” — Columbus Dispatch

“A pleasing biography. . . . Anthony paints a vivid portrait.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Nellie Taft cut a bold swath through the remnants of Victorian sensibility.” — Dayton Daily News

“[A] riveting, novelistic bio.” — Entertainment Weekly on Florence Harding

“A titillating—and unquestioningly entertaining—look at an early 20th century political marriage devoid of a mundane moment.” — Time on Florence Harding

“Staggeringly well researched, richly sympathetic, and teeming with human interest.” — Kirkus Reviews on First Ladies

“A much needed examination of the ways presidential wives influenced husbands, domestic politics, and foreign policy.” — San Francisco Chronicle on First Ladies

“Florence Harding’s story is absorbing, poignant and dramatic.” — Washington Post Book World on Florence Harding

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Resources

Product Details

  • ISBN: 9780060513832
  • ISBN 10: 0060513837
  • Imprint: William Morrow Paperbacks
  • On Sale: 02/21/2006
  • Pages: 560
  • List Price:31.00 CAD
  • BISAC1 : PSYCHOLOGY / Mental Health
  • BISAC2 : HISTORY / Women
  • BISAC3 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical

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