FDR's Shadow: Louis Howe, the Force That Shaped Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt

by Julie M. Fenster

In 1921, Franklin Delano Roosevelt€”the 1920 vice presidential candidate on the losing Democratic ticket€”was overcome by an illness that left him unable to walk. He retired to his family estate in Hyde Park with his wife, Eleanor, who was suffering emotional problems of her own. For the Roosevelts, it was the low point of their lives. At that juncture, Roosevelt€™s advisor, Louis Howe, moved in with them, leaving his own family behind. Howe set to work to lift Roosevelt€™s spirits and maintain his connection to the world of politics. At the same time, he encouraged Eleanor to develop the self-esteem that would allow her to realize her full potential. Three years later, against all expectations, FDR was once again a key player on the national political stage and Eleanor had blossomed into the public figure we all know and love. With her signature insight and wit, Julie Fenster presents a vivid, behind-the-scenes portrait of the world of the

Genres: Biography, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Presidents

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2009

Reviews

[Claire Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject of the book, Louis McHenry Howe, devoted more than two decades of his life to the cause of electing Franklin Roosevelt as President of the United States. In the pages of Julie Fenster’s new biography, Howe finally steps out of the shadows and we gain a clearer understanding of his life. It was a life crowned with great professional success after years of frustration and failure, but apparently never blessed with personal happiness. Fenster has taken advantage of the recent opening of Howe’s personal papers at the FDR library to present a more rounded picture of Howe’s life than was previously possible.

Howe was born into a life of wealth and privilege in Indiana in 1871, but battled poor health from his childhood onward. He married, but the marriage was not a happy one, and he and his wife spent the majority of their years together living apart. Howe worked as a journalist and political operative with only middling success for many years before crossing paths with a young New York State Senator named Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Although Howe devoted many years to serving Roosevelt, this biography makes clear that the years 1921-22 were the pivotal ones in the relationship. After FDR was stricken with polio, Howe moved into the Roosevelt household full time, and devoted himself to keeping FDR’s political flame alive when most everyone thought he was doomed to a life of invalidism. It was during those years that the relationship between Howe and Eleanor Roosevelt deepened, and he became a mentor to the once shy and awkward woman who would go on to become one of the country’s greatest First Ladies.

Sadly, Howe did not have many years to enjoy the fruits of his decades of labor. He died midway through FDR’s first term in the While House. But by then, the greatest goal of his life had already been accomplished

[Anna Ligtenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

ISBN 0230609104 - I picked this one up, excited at the idea of a look at FDR's era from a slightly off-center perspective. Louis Howe, a man known mostly to his own family and political historians, has never really gotten the sort of popular acknowledgment that he deserves. He still hasn't.

A somewhat sickly child whose family pampers him to a nearly ridiculous extent, Louis Howe hardly seems like a king-maker. His life story makes complete sense as he becomes a reporter and works with his father. Louis over-reaches in his marriage choice and, from there, seems to become an entirely different person. From his first dealings with Franklin Roosevelt, Howe seems to see, in him, the future - where no one else does. A distant, stand-offish, relationship with Roosevelt's wife changes as he helps her to develop her own political identity and when tragedy strikes the man they both love, Howe is there to support and encourage, never giving up on Roosevelt's shining political future.

I've always found the comparison of these two men interesting and hoped for more Howe and less FDR in a book about Howe. There is some of that, although most of it makes Howe appear to be a pathetic and needy man. His marriage is a shambles from the beginning, his parenting skills are non-existent, and FDR and Eleanor take precedence, repeatedly, over his wife and children. While it's always nice to get a glimpse of reality, it's sad that a book titled "FDR's Shadow" merely casts the man as IN FDR's shadow and that, in every way but one, he is painted a miserable failure. Just a slightly more positive glimpse, which surely has to exist, would have been a nice celebration of the man behind the man who did so much for his country. The book isn't terrible, but it is surprisingly thin and uninteresting in a lot of ways. Howe deserves much better.

- AnnaLovesBooks

[Roberta Havel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read a lot of books about FDR and this one was disappointing to me. The first 100 pages of the book focused on Howe’s personal life and the rest of the book was either gossipy or had cameo appearances of Howe’s influence on Roosevelt. A lot of this would have been alright if the name of the book would have been The biography of Louis Howe not FDR’s Shadow. Read at your own peril

[Emma]

Is it odd that after reading "Eleanor and Franklin" I was more intrigued to know about Louis Howe than FDR? Franklin really was remarkable and that fact came through more in this book, that provided details of his attempts to walk following his paralysis, and yet Howe is still fascinating. In part it is because of the odd personal arrangement of living with the Roosevelts and shunning his own family, which was elaborated upon in this book. The motivations of a man to sublimate himself to facilitate someone else's ambitions is also a part of this fascination and the book does look at the financial motives and something less tangible - a certain desire to be the visionary and the puppet master, as well as a 'friend' to Eleanor.

This book covers in great detail the early years of Howe's association with the Roosevelts but the actual presidential campaign following the onset of the Great Depression was incredibly brief, as was Howe's death, which was covered somewhat controversially in "Eleanor and Franklin" (Lash basically said that FDR did nothing for him at the end and was incapable of expressing emotion; the hero really was Eleanor). These are odd events to cover briefly and Fenster left me wanting more, especially more letters because hey, I don't want to go into the archives but I want to read the good stuff anyway.

One thing I did walk away from this book thinking was how differently people respond to presidential candidates now (I mean the time is ripe for revisiting presidential histories, right?!). Howe's advice to Roosevelt was that if he were to divorce Eleanor he could wave goodbye to the presidency - and while few bat an eye at the divorce rates of our presidents today I wonder if a president with health concerns and paralysis (the author points to not only FDR but the debilitation Wilson experienced after his stroke), and an open secret of extra-marital affairs would be received so positively? Or leaders whose advisors are unabashed feminists and same-sex attracted? Perhaps I am becoming cynical?

[Susan Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only available bio of Louis Howe, FDR's political strategist, who piloted his run for VP in 1920, encouraged (nudged, pushed, bullied!) ER to try her political wings, and managed the 1928 and 1932 presidential campaigns.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really compelling read about the man behind-the-scenes that shaped the Roosevelts into the Presidential people they became. I also appreciated Fenster's citing new access to Howe's archival papers as the impetus.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind the scenes

Louis Howe wasn't 'the tired old man behind the curtain' that the Wizard of Oz called himself, but he functioned in almost that capacity for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Julie Fenster's well-written and researched biography of Howe gives us a complete portrait of a complex man, and details how crucial Howe was to the rise of FDR.