Crowded Hours

by Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth (1884 - 1980) was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States and the only child of Roosevelt's first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee. Alice Longworth led an unconventional and controversial life, her marriage to Representative Nicholas Longworth (Republican-Ohio) was rocky. This book received rave reviews TIME Magazine praised its "insouciant vitality."

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, American History

355 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

The press frequently subjected Caustic wit of favorite active American socialite Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt.

This prominent oldest child wrote. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Two days after her birth, her mother died from Bright's Disease (kidney failure).

Alice led an unconventional and controversial life. During her shaky marriage to Nicholas Longworth III, Republican representative of Ohio, a leader of Republican Party, and forty-third Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, her affair with William Edgar Borah, senator of Idaho, allegedly resulted in Paulina Longworth, her only child . She temporarily identified as a Democrat during the Administrations of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson and identified as a hedonist in a televised interview on "60 Minutes" with Eric Sevareid, on 17 February 1974.

As one of most notorious insiders of Washington, “Mrs. L” (as she wished to be called) reined over political life for six decades from her home on Massachusetts Avenue. The political elite sought her advice and opinions at her famous dinner and tea parties. An invitation to one of her dinner parties was the most coveted invitation in town. She was given the epitaph “the second Washington monument.” She was famous for her conversational ability.

Reviews

[Gene McAvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Roosevelt Longworth was said to have been 'uneducated' and not very well-spoken. In my opinion, both of these evaluations are very far from accurate. TRs daughter from his first marriage was without question about 50 years ahead of her time in being a free-spirited and liberated woman.

She was raised around politics and politicians all of her life and probably cut her teeth on the words of political discourse that she heard all through her childhood and into her adult life.

For an 'uneducated' individual such as she was shown to be, her understandling of the political issues of her time are without equal. At a later point in time she would have given many of today's pols a run for their money.

Highly readable, interesting, and entertaining to read. Contains a wealth of street-wise knowledge spanning administrations from TR to Harding and even a few thoughts on Hoover and FDR. She also has some very interesting thoughts and narrative about how Prohibition really was in America. A highly recommended read for the student of Victorian age and early 1900s politics.

[Corinne Apezteguia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I'd give it five stars for the purpose I read it for (research). I definitely had some five-star moments while reading this book, mostly when history I'd read about in another book coincided with Alice Roosevelt's recollections. I found her recollections of TR fascinating, as well as her trip to Asia with Taft. It was fun seeing through the eyes of a presidential daughter: the people she met, the things she witnessed, etc, and it gave me insight into the rift that formed between Taft/Roosevelt after Taft's election. (which I read about in the Bully Pulpit by D.K. Goodwin) (I'd lost respect for Roosevelt and his family based on the way they treated Taft later in Roosevelt's life, but seeing this period through Alice's eyes softened me and helped me understand/sympathize with the Roosevelts even if I don't entirely agree with how they handled themselves)

The down side to this book is that there are some sections that are impossibly dry if one isn't familiar with the people Alice is talking about. For example, she details dinners and social gatherings without elaborating much, which can feel a bit like a travelogue at times, and, without context, can be confusing/boring.

[Nikki Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book interesting, as I picked it up while I'm reading the interminably long book the Bully Pulpit about Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. This is the memoir of Alice Roosevelt, the "wild child" of Teddy, and it was interesting to read a daughter's perspective on what was going on in the White House. Parts of the book were fascinating, but other parts regarding all the senators and the politics of the time were pretty slow. Alice was a free spirit, and if you are a history buff, it's enlightening to get a woman's perspective on the inner workings of the US government in the early 1900s. She certainly gave her opinions freely. :)

[Cynthia]

The reason I read it was because I found it in my mother’s books because she got on sale from the public library where she worked. Alice Roosevelt Longsworth’s account of her times is really quite charming and crosses both sides of the aisles for a number of years and demonstrates one thing: politics really isn’t that different now than it was back then. As a woman she moved in political circles before women voted, so her viewpoints have a charming lack of attachment to the issues. Well she was supportive of her father as a daughter she also was married to a senator from Ohio from across the aisle . She wasn’t taken seriously so she didn’t have to take herself seriously. It was quite an interesting read.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the daughter of a President and wife of a prominent U.S. Representative Alice managed to keep her nose squarely planted in the inner workings of our nation's Capitol for the first three decades of the 20th century. When cousin Franklin and the Democrats came to power she became, for the first time in her life, an "outsider". She talks incessantly about many politicians - most of whom I had never heard - describing conversations, outings, social events and political maneuverings. It is an interesting insider's view of how things worked in the early part of the century and how they changed during those years. She was steadfastly devoted to her father and everything he stood for and staunchly opposed to anyone who disagreed with him. It was interesting to read about the tension in the family when Teddy broke with Taft, but Alice's husband, who lived in the same city with Taft, felt obliged to remain in the Taft camp. All in all a good read, if you can find it.

[Anne Hendricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Roosevelt Longworth lived a long and exciting life, but this is written before her life got even more exciting. Alice was always her own woman. It is the whirl of public life and private impressions that defined her youth and early adulthood. Written in 1913, before the many Wars she would see, it remains an extraordinary memoir full of a shrewd young woman's firsthand observations in Washington, D.C.

[Adrien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. She seemed so interesting, but her actual writings read like a list of places she'd been and presents she'd been given. Maybe if someone took the time to edit her memoirs, adding footnotes about times and people, it'd be a little more enjoyable. As it is, she didn't really seem to do much. I have Eleanor's autobiography up next.

[Melinda Stinchfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective of politics and social circles in Washington 100+ years ago. Written with wit and humor, it was engaging, even though many of the names were unfamiliar.

[Gareth Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

i <3 interesting women

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a well written book by any means, but it was perhaps my greatest score ever in terms of buying a book. I found it at a used book sale, completely random luck. I've never seen it anywhere else since.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth is one of the most interesting people in American political history, even though she never held office. She didn't even have a formal education. Her cousin Eleanor gets all the press, but I think Alice was twice as influential as Eleanor ever could have hoped to be.

[Herb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully interesting autobiography by the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Written from the viewpoint of a middle-aged woman of 1933, it is a very insightful look at East Coast political upper-class families and the world of politics in which she grew up and lived as an adult. Also, as the wife of the House of Representatives' Speaker of the House Nicholas Longworth, she had the added advantage of being a Washington insider at one of the most interesting eras in American history. Well worth a read.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be a book that I would read in pieces over time, but it turned out that I couldn't put it down and ended up finishing in 24 hours. Alice Roosevelt Longworth wrote about her childhood and parts of her adulthood, including much about the politics of her day as well as the personal aspects of being the child and wife of prominent politicians. Next I plan to read a biography about her husband, Nicholas Longworth, and I hope it proves half as interesting.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a surface view. Date-book narrative disguised as memoir. Alice seems charming, but the juice is missing.

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very amusing person presents interesting insight into pre World War I.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. What a woman! What a time in which she lived.