American Princess
A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt
-
-
4.5 • 193 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
“As juicy and enlightening as a page in Meghan Markle's diary.”—InStyle
“Presidential darling, America’s sweetheart, national rebel: Teddy Roosevelt’s swashbuckling daughter Alice springs to life in this raucous anthem to a remarkable woman.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress
A sweeping novel from renowned author Stephanie Marie Thornton...
Alice may be the president's daughter, but she's nobody's darling. As bold as her signature color Alice Blue, the gum-chewing, cigarette-smoking, poker-playing First Daughter discovers that the only way for a woman to stand out in Washington is to make waves—oceans of them. With the canny sophistication of the savviest politician on the Hill, Alice uses her celebrity to her advantage, testing the limits of her power and the seductive thrill of political entanglements.
But Washington, DC is rife with heartaches and betrayals, and when Alice falls hard for a smooth-talking congressman it will take everything this rebel has to emerge triumphant and claim her place as an American icon. As Alice soldiers through the devastation of two world wars and brazens out a cutting feud with her famous Roosevelt cousins, it's no wonder everyone in the capital refers to her as the Other Washington Monument—and Alice intends to outlast them all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The wild, wonderful, outsize personality of presidential daughter Alice Roosevelt is on full and fantastic display in this lightly fictionalized take on her unapologetic, unconventional life from the author of Daughter of the Gods. After President William McKinley was assassinated, Theodore Roosevelt moves into the White House and his headstrong daughter Alice becomes one of Washington's favorite denizens and a fixture in newspaper columns. Whether carting around a pet snake named Emily Spinach, jumping into a swimming pool completely clothed while on a diplomatic mission, or cavorting with Chinese empress Cixi, Alice revels in being a rebel with a singular verve for life, even if others disapprove. But Alice also suffers heartbreak, including because of her cheating husband, Republican congressman Nick Longworth. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of Alice's life is the death of her only child, Paulina, widely believed to be the daughter of Senator William Borah, with whom Alice was said to have had a long and ongoing affair. Thornton's impeccable research and command of her subject fills this tale with authenticity, and her unerring instinct for knowing what to fictionalize and what to keep factual is finely balanced, making what could be dull in lesser hands consistently entertaining. Alice herself would undoubtedly have loved this take on her unorthodox life as will the many destined to read it.
