Loving Eleanor
GENRE
BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMA POLITICAL LGBT ROMANCE
Core Theme
EVOLVING NATURE OF LOVE
TIME PERIOD
20th Century (multiple decades)
COMPARABLE TITLES
CAROL, GENTLEMAN JACK, HIS GIRL FRIDAY
CHARACTER LIST
• LORENA HICKOK (HICK): 35-55. LEAD. ASPIRING, EMPATHETIC, OUTSPOKEN, UNAPOLOGETIC, FAITHFUL
• ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: 45-65. FIRST LADY. ENGAGING, GRACIOUS, INSECURE, LEADER, NAIVE, VISIONARY, ROMANTIC
• FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: 50-60. POTUS. COMPLEX, CONFIDENT, DECISIVE.
Logline
Star AP political reporter Lorena Hickok becomes intimately involved with Eleanor Roosevelt and gives up her career to tutor ER in PR as 1st Lady. Then, as Eleanor grows into her role and becomes Eleanor Everywhere, Hick must create her own independent life.
Target Audiences
Age: 35-54,55+,18-34
Target Gender: LGBT Leaning,Female Leaning
Setting
New York, Washington DC, Hyde Park, Long Island
Based on a True Story
Yes
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Year Published: 2016
Starting Description
Sept 1928. AP NY bureau office. Hick is assigned (male reporters boo) to cover the Democratic ticket, FDR for NY governor. Mrs. R speaks at a lunch, Hick finds her homely but mesmerizing. Election night. Hoover (GOP) landslide but FDR wins NY. Mrs. R tells Hick she doesn't want to be NY First Lady.
Ending Description
Hick retires from political life to a house on Long Island, where (after FDR's death, 1945) she watches as Truman names ER to the UN, realizing that the only way she can hold her is to let her go--and be there when she comes back.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
978-0989203548
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Plot - Other Elements
Philosophical Questions
Plot - Premise
Quest,Other
Main Character Details
Name: Lorena Hickok (Hick)
Age: 35-55
Gender: Lgbt
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Empathetic,Underdog,Blunt,Outspoken,Skillful,Romantic,Sarcastic,Unapologetic,Faithful
Additional Character Details
Name: Eleanor Roosevelt
Age: 45-65
Gender: Female
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Aspiring,Complex,Empathetic,Engaging,Gracious,Insecure,Leader,Naive,Visionary,Romantic,Strong Moral Code,Manipulative
Additional Character Details
Name: Franklin Roosevelt
Age: 50-60
Gender: Male
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Aspiring,Charming,Complex,Confident,Decisive,Engaging,Gracious,Leader,Narcisstic,Power Hungry,Visionary,Secretive,Manipulative
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Genre
ROMANCE, HISTORICAL FICTION
Brief
Loving Eleanor is a fictional memoir based on the relationship between Lorena Hick and Eleanor Roosevelt. This is the start of a love story that would last for years, despite long periods of separation and the fact that Eleanor Roosevelt was to become The First Lady of United States.
Overall Rating
EXCELLENT
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: EXCELLENT
Characterization: EXCELLENT
Commerciality: EXCELLENT
Franchise Potential: EXCELLENT
Pace: EXCELLENT
Premise: EXCELLENT
Structure: EXCELLENT
Theme: EXCELLENT
Accuracy of Book Profile
The plot premise of "Quest" seems off, but other than that it works.
Draw of Story
Beautiful writing--perfect use of language and composition. Also, everyone loves a scandalous love story.
Possible Drawbacks
Not once I wanted to put the book down. Seriously. So good.
Use of Special Effects
No.
Primary Hook of Story
A peek behind the curtain at the love story of Eleanor Roosevelt and female reporter Lorena Hickok, based on the love letters exchanged between the two that have just recently become unsealed.
Fanbase Potential
Absolutely. The LGBT crowd, the historical accuracy crowd, and overall lovers of drama and romance will obsess over this.
Awards Potential
It's a period piece, so there will be opportunity for awards in costume design, but the roles are so intense that this could also be an area where female actors could shine, and a male actor could bring FDR to life in a new way.
Envisioned Budget
LARGE BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
CAROL. GENTLEMAN JACK
What’s New About the Story
It's based on a true story, it's a lesbian love story that focuses more on the difficulties of loving a public figure rather than homophobia, and one of the most interesting aspects is that it's the 30s and 40s through the lens of the late 60s. Normally, historical fiction is written through the lens of a modern time, but this allows for some hindsight while also providing opportunities for unwritten echoes of timeliness.
Lead Characters
No one is a stereotype. ER is shown as emotionally vulnerable. Hick is shown as ambitious in her career in a way that female characters are often robbed of in favor of their romantic ideals--Hick isn't afraid to put her foot down and tell ER how she deserves to be treated. Hick is empowering in every way.
Uniqueness of Story
Rare gem doesn't begin to cut it. If this story only had a fifth of its magic it would still be a rare gem.
Possible Formats
Film - Studio, TV Series - Limited Run / Mini-Series, TV Series - Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
RECOMMEND
Justification
Grab this before someone else does and please make it already. Everyone needs to see this.
Brief
Star AP political reporter Lorena Hickok becomes intimately involved with Eleanor Roosevelt just before her husband's first election to the presidency. As Eleanor grows into her role and becomes Eleanor Everywhere, Hick must create her own independent life, while covering up her own heartbreak and affair with the first lady.
What We Liked
- Based on a true story;
- This is a beautiful love story that could stand on its own even if it weren't based on a true
story, even if it wasn't a period piece showing the tumultuous 30s and 40s with the
perspective of the late 60s, even if it wasn't a multidimensional view of a lesbian romance in
an arena of cardboard farces in female-centered LGBT romance lit. This story would be great
even if it did not have all of these wonderful elements, and yet, it manages to surpass
expectations at every turn;
- A blockbuster tragic romance that critics and audiences alike would love;
- This would be a thrilling series that audiences would tune into every week to see what happens in the love story and what happens in Hick's personal life and career.
Synopsis
In 1928, Lorena Hickok is the top female reporter for the Associated Press. She is assigned to cover the democratic ticket in New York, where rising political star Franklin Delano Roosevelt is running for governor. She watches a speech by his wife and is instantly mesmerized by Eleanor Roosevelt. As she covers the election, the two become closer, and ER confides in Hick that she does not want FDR to win.
Louis Howe, FDR's political adviser, meets with Hick and warns her of FDR's "left hook." Hick and ER share a train ride together in which they first become intimate, spurring a love affair that lasts over a decade between the two. Hick covers the Tammany Hall political scandals as FDR gains ground politically. Soon, Hick is helping ER as she and her husband run for the presidency. ER dreads becoming first lady, so Hick organizes a private plane ride for the two to cheer ER up, piloted by Amelia Earhart. The two are often seen at the White House together.
FDR likes Hick, but he recommends that she work with the Federal Relief Agency to document the lives of ordinary Americans during the Great Depression. This means that Hick and ER will be separated, but Hick will get to do meaningful work.
Hick goes to the midwest and sees the poverty and desolation plaguing the country. She brings her reports back to ER, who is determined to take more action to help. ER and Hick plan for a few private vacations together, but Hick soon learns that ER is too politically ambitious and has become too much of a celebrity. This causes a separation between the two, as Hick feels that ER will never put her first.
The second world war breaks out, and FDR is forced to bring the country into the fray. Hick returns to the White House and spends more and more time with the Roosevelts. Once FDR dies, Hick is disappointed to find that she still has to share Eleanor with the world, as President Truman appoints ER to the United Nations as "First Lady of the world." Hick realizes she will always love Eleanor, but she will never have her all to herself.