Book Description
A fact-based romantic speculative novel about Teddy Roosevelt’s first love, by Mary Calvi, author of Dear George, Dear Mary.
Studded with the real love letters between a young Theodore Roosevelt and Boston beauty Alice Lee—many of them never before published—If a Poem Could Live and Breathe makes vivid what many historians believe to be the pivotal years that made the future president into the man of action that defined his political life, and cemented his legacy.
Cambridge, 1878. The era of the Gilded Age. Alice Lee sets out to break from the norms of her mother’s generation. Women are fighting for educational opportunities and exploring a new sense of intellectual and personal freedom. Native New Yorker, Harvard student Teddy Roosevelt, is on his own journey of discovery, and when they meet, unrelenting currents of love change the trajectory of his life forever.
If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is an indelible portrait of the authenticity of first love, the heartache of loss, and how overcoming the worst of life’s obstacles can push one to greatness never imagined.
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
IF A POEM COULD LIVE AND BREATHE: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt’s First Love by Mary Calvi is a speculative historical fiction based on Theodore Roosevelt’s first love and marriage to Alice Lee. This is a beautiful young love story based on actual letters. Set in the Gilded Age, two young people are discovering themselves, their possibilities, and their love.
In 1878, Alice Lee is fighting the strictures of her mother’s generation. It is a time when women are fighting for educational opportunities and intellectual freedom. Alice wants to be able to receive advanced education in the newly opened women’s annex at Harvard, but her mother has other plans for her as she is a beauty many eligible and wealthy young men are interested in.
Harvard student, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt is finding a world of opportunities with his new friends. He has survived a childhood plagued by asthma and has grown into a young man who wills himself to fight through his asthma attacks and enjoy everything life has to offer. When he attends a weekend away with one of his Harvard classmates, he finds himself in the presence of the most beautiful young girl he has ever seen and instantly falls in love for the first time in his life. He is determined to make her fall for him too.
This is such a beautiful story of young, first love. Due to this time in history, societal expectations play a large role in their friendship and then courtship. The book is written in “The Present” with Teddy on his ranch in the Badlands after the death of his wife and “The Past” with their meeting through first year of marriage until Alice’s death. The letters between Alice and Teddy give the readers a look into their relationship with Ms. Calvi giving the readers a well-researched and realistic look at the culture and mores of 1878-1885 New England society. Alice had my heart from the start with her love of education and freedom of choice and that Teddy accepted that in her and stood up for her ideas and beliefs in public made me appreciate him even more. Although Alice and Teddy’s love story was just a short period in his overall lifetime and he refused to discuss it after his return from the Badlands, he honored that relationship in action with the freedom from societal norms he allowed their daughter, Alice.
I highly recommend this bittersweet and yet beautiful young love historical fiction romance.
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About the Author
MARY CALVI is an author of historical fiction. Her upcoming book, IF A POEM COULD LIVE AND BREATHE: A NOVEL OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S FIRST LOVE, is based on never-before-published love letters to and from Roosevelt, which Calvi researched and transcribed from the originals. The publication is set for Valentine’s Day 2023 (St. Martin’s Press). Her in-depth research for her debut book, DEAR GEORGE, DEAR MARY: A NOVEL OF GEORGE WASHINGTON’S FIRST LOVE is the basis of a Smithsonian Channel documentary, airing now. Calvi is a 14-time New York Emmy® award-winning journalist, the morning news anchor for WCBS-TV, and national anchor for Inside Edition Weekend.
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.marycalvi.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryCalviTV/
