American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie Thornton
Author: Stephanie Thornton
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publish Date: March 12, 2019
Source: Author and Publisher
What's the Story?:
From Goodreads.com: "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."
My Two Cents:
"American Princess" is the story of Alice Roosevelt, daughter of my favorite President, Teddy Roosevelt. I love the whole Roosevelt family (cousins included) but Alice has always been terribly fascinating to me. In a family full of boisterous, big personality people, she still found plenty of ways to make herself well known. She was a celebrity of her time with media following her every move. She was also smart, strategic, and savvy. Her life was also very tumultuous! Thornton explores all of these aspects with panache and fine attention to detail!
The problem (if you can call it that) of being so involved with the book world is that sometimes you find out about books long before they are released and waiting for books like this one can be super difficult. I found out about this pretty much as soon as it sold and I have been waiting and waiting for it. I was definitely not disappointed and it's true, good things come to those who wait.
Alice is such a good character. The book begins when she is a young debutante angling for the way to make the biggest splash so we get to meet her fairly young. The book goes through all of the trials and travails of being the First Daughter and trying to navigate the scrutiny. As with everything else in her life, Alice goes her own way and makes up her rules as she goes along. I loved watching her make her way through so many decades of American history.
Love triangles, particularly historic love triangles, are fascinating to me. Alice marries Nicholas Longworth and it's an amazing political dynasty match but her heart belongs to William Borah, eloquent Senator from Idaho. Oh, boy - watching how these three sides merge and grapple with each other was fantastic! I don't want to give anything away but I loved how the author infused so many of the complicated emotions that would accompany such a high profile triangle.
It is no secret that I have loved Thornton's other books. I love her writing style and that she chose to make Alice the narrator, giving us a front row seat to her life. This was a very effective mechanism for getting me into the book. Alice has a truly unique voice and this was a wonderful tribute to a wonderfully wild woman!