Search
Log in
  • Home

  • Categories

  • Audiobooks

  • E-books

  • For kids

  • Top lists

  • Help

  • Download app

  • Use campaign code

  • Redeem gift card

  • Try free now
  • Log in
  • Language

    🇳🇱 Nederland

    • NL
    • EN

    🇧🇪 Belgique

    • FR
    • EN

    🇩🇰 Danmark

    • DK
    • EN

    🇩🇪 Deutschland

    • DE
    • EN

    🇪🇸 España

    • ES
    • EN

    🇫🇷 France

    • FR
    • EN

    🇳🇴 Norge

    • NO
    • EN

    🇦🇹 Österreich

    • AT
    • EN

    🇨🇭 Schweiz

    • DE
    • EN

    🇫🇮 Suomi

    • FI
    • EN

    🇸🇪 Sverige

    • SE
    • EN
  1. Books
  2. Biographies and reportage
  3. Biographies

Read and listen for free for 30 days!

Cancel anytime

Try free now
0.0(0)

Eleanor in the Village: Eleanor Roosevelt's Search for Freedom and Identity in New York's Greenwich Village

A “riveting and enlightening account” (Bookreporter) of a mostly unknown chapter in the life of Eleanor Roosevelt—when she moved to New York’s Greenwich Village, shed her high-born conformity, and became the progressive leader who pushed for change as America’s First Lady.

Hundreds of books have been written about FDR and Eleanor, both together and separately, but yet she remains a compelling and elusive figure. And, not much is known about why in 1920, Eleanor suddenly abandoned her duties as a mother of five and moved to Greenwich Village, then the symbol of all forms of transgressive freedom—communism, homosexuality, interracial relationships, and subversive political activity. Now, in this “immersive…original look at an iconic figure of American politics” (Publishers Weekly), Jan Russell pulls back the curtain on Eleanor’s life to reveal the motivations and desires that drew her to the Village and how her time there changed her political outlook.

A captivating blend of personal history detailing Eleanor’s struggle with issues of marriage, motherhood, financial independence, and femininity, and a vibrant portrait of one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world, this unique work examines the ways that the sensibility, mood, and various inhabitants of the neighborhood influenced the First Lady’s perception of herself and shaped her political views over four decades, up to her death in 1962.

When Eleanor moved there, the Village was a zone of Bohemians, misfits, and artists, but there was also freedom there, a miniature society where personal idiosyncrasy could flourish. Eleanor joined the cohort of what then was called “The New Women” in Greenwich Village. Unlike the flappers in the 1920s, the New Women had a much more serious agenda, organizing for social change—unions for workers, equal pay, protection for child workers—and they insisted on their own sexual freedom. These women often disagreed about politics—some, like Eleanor, were Democrats, others Republicans, Socialists, and Communists. Even after moving into the White House, Eleanor retained connections to the Village, ultimately purchasing an apartment in Washington Square where she lived during World War II and in the aftermath of Roosevelt’s death in 1945.

Including the major historical moments that served as a backdrop for Eleanor’s time in the Village, this remarkable work offers new insights into Eleanor’s transformation—emotionally, politically, and sexually—and provides us with the missing chapter in an extraordinary life.


Author:

  • Jan Jarboe Russell

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 5 h 7 min

Language:

English

Categories:

  • Biographies and reportage
  • Biographies
  • History
  • Great occurrences and events
  • Society and Social Sciences
  • Society
  • Society and Social Sciences
  • Gender and LGBT

Others have also read

Skip the list
  1. K met peren : Hoe ik mijn zus verloor aan kanker

    Marion van Coolwijk

    audiobook
  2. Wonder (dat ik hier nog zit) - waargebeurd verhaal

    Anniek Reijmer

    audiobook
  3. Ik heb een naam

    Chanel Miller

    book
  4. Miss yellow hair, hello! : Avonturen van een ontembare wereldreizigster

    Iris Hannema

    audiobook
  5. Het gemis

    Aaltje Wieringen

    audiobook
  6. Geef nooit op

    Bear Grylls

    audiobookbook
  7. K met peren: Hoe ik mijn zus verloor aan kanker

    Marion van Coolwijk

    audiobook
  8. Waarom verdriet gelukkig maakt : Hoe we gelukkiger worden door beter verdrietig te zijn

    Helen Russell

    audiobookbook
  9. Laat je tranen vloeien tot een vijver : Mijn nieuwe leven zonder Marc

    Remona de Hond-Fransen

    audiobookbook
  10. Ronnie

    Leon Verdonschot

    audiobookbook
  11. Het grote affirmatieboek : Een boek vol woorden die je leven kunnen veranderen

    Frederique Bicker

    audiobookbook
  12. The Wild Boy: A Memoir

    Paolo Cognetti

    book

Help and contact


About us

  • Our story
  • Career
  • Press
  • Accessibility
  • Partner with us
  • Investor relations
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Explore

  • Categories
  • Audiobooks
  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • For kids
  • Top lists

Popular categories

  • Crime
  • Biographies and reportage
  • Fiction
  • Feel-good and romance
  • Personal development
  • Children's books
  • True stories
  • Sleep and relaxation

Nextory

Copyright © 2025 Nextory AB

Privacy Policy · Terms ·
Excellent4.3 out of 5