Becoming Madam Secretary

She took on titans, battled generals, and changed the world as we know it…

“Inspiring and essential reading.” –New York Times

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic novel about an American heroine Frances Perkins.

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.

When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.

But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.

Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.

Outstanding!

I have no complaints. This far exceeded my expectations, which were high to begin with because I love her books!

Read this book!

Should be part of every HS students literature readings! Francis Perkins history is American history.

A woman we all owe a debt to.

The author presented Francis Perkins as a fascinating and likable human being, and made her record of accomplishmentsunforgettable

Amazing story!

I loved this book so much. Everyone should read it. I was hooked from the beginning.

Very interesting book

Good information about the struggles involved to get the needed changes in child welfare, safety issues, as well as working conditions. Frances Perkins had the knowledge and background from her work in NY as well as the perseverance needed to be Secretary of Labor in FDR’s Cabinet.