A Volume of Friendship: The Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Isabella Greenway 1904-1953 

Eds. Kristie Miller and Robert H. McGinnis  

(Arizona Historical Society)

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt is known for many things: for being a second-wave feminist icon, for her humanitarian work in social causes (such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and of course, for her rumored lesbian romance.

While the letters—written between Roosevelt and her life-long best friend, Isabella Greenway—do not address her sexuality, we do witness a more personal side of this pioneering woman. Roosevelt and Greenway share stories of family, childbirth, sorrow and triumphs, dating from their teens into old age.

Among the seemingly trivial everyday occurrences, there are glimpses into the political lives they led—Roosevelt, of course, as first lady and perhaps the most influential member of the U.N.’s Commission on Human Rights, and Greenway as Arizona’s first congresswoman.