The Roosevelts of Hyde Park: An Untold Story by Elliot Roosevelt & James Brough
The Roosevelts of Hyde Park: An Untold Story (First UK Edition Hardcover Copy)
An Intimate, Strikingly Candid Portrait of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as Witnessed by Their Son
An Intimate, Strikingly Candid Portrait of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as Witnessed by Their Son
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: The Roosevelts of Hyde Park: An Untold Story
- Authors: Elliott Roosevelt and James Brough
- Publisher: W.H. Allen, London
- Publication Date: 1974
- ISBN-10: 0491013523
- ISBN-13: 9780491013529
- Edition Details: First UK Edition, First Printing. Standard hardcover release with original unclipped dust jacket.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium textured cloth boards with crisp gold/silver gilt-stamped lettering across the spine, complete with structurally sound endpapers.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 318 pages. Enhanced with an authoritative Roosevelt family genealogy tree and a central section featuring rare black-and-white archival family photographs from the Hyde Park estate.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
-
The Book: Near Fine (NF) / Mint
- Exterior / Cloth Boards: The cloth casing remains in pristine, absolute mint condition. The binding is perfectly square and sits completely flat. The corners are razor-sharp with no traces of shelf friction or bumping along the lower board rims. The spine ends are crisp and stiff, remaining completely undamaged.
- Interior: The text block is robustly bound, completely clean, and tight. The internal pages and photographic sections are pristine, bright white, and entirely free of student highlighting, ink margin notations, dealer pencil prices, folds, or dog-ears.
- Provenance: An immaculate archival-grade volume showing no signs of institutional library stamps, previous owner nameplates, or remainder marks.
-
The Dust Jacket: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Condition Details: The original, striking illustrated dust jacket exhibits excellent color contrast and strong paper structural integrity. It shows very limited, superficial signs of handling and slight edge wear along the outer extremities. It features no significant tears, fading, or open chips, and comes protected in a clear, archival Cellophane cover.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1974, The Roosevelts of Hyde Park: An Untold Story offers an extraordinary, unprecedented glimpse behind the public façade of America's most legendary political dynasty. Co-authored by Elliott Roosevelt, the son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, this deeply personal memoir strips away decades of official White House mythology to create an intimate, unvarnished portrait of his parents as individuals, as husband and wife, and ultimately as world leaders.
The narrative journeys directly into the private spaces of the family's historic Hyde Park estate, tracing the complex dynamics of a marriage defined by profound political partnership, private isolation, and intense personal vulnerabilities. Elliott details his father's agonizing battle with polio, his mother's transformation into a fierce global champion for human rights, and the hidden emotional fractures that shaped their public triumphs. It stands as a vital primary-source document that fundamentally shifted the landscape of modern presidential biography.
Author Profile: Elliott Roosevelt & James Brough
- Elliott Roosevelt (1910–1990) was the second son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. A distinguished U.S. Army Air Forces officer during World War II, he served as a close wartime political aide to his father, attending the historic Cairo, Tehran, and Yalta conferences. He later established himself as a successful radio broadcaster, author, and mayor of Miami Beach.
- James Brough (1918–2001) was a highly experienced British-born journalist and biographer who specialized in collaborative memoirs with prominent historical figures, celebrities, and members of international political dynasties.
Together, Roosevelt and Brough are widely praised by critics for their narrative speed, elegant prose style, and peerless ability to balance historical precision with deep, personal familial insight.
elliott roosevelt james brough the roosevelts of hyde park first edition hardcover collectible book american presidential history fdr eleanor roosevelt wh allen 1974 rare books presidential memoirs
