Elizabeth Lawrence (1904-1985) lived a singular, contradictory life as a true Southerner; a successful, independent gardening writer with her own newspaper column; a dutiful daughter; a landscape architect; an accomplished poet; a friend of literary figures like Eudora Welty and Joseph Mitchell; and a very private woman, whose recently discovered l

The Three Graces of Val-Kill changes the way we think about Eleanor Roosevelt. Emily Wilson examines what she calls the most formative period in Roosevelt's life, from 1922 to 1936, when she cultivated an intimate friendship with Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook, who helped her build a cottage on the Val-Kill Creek in Hyde Park on the Roosevelt family land. In the early years, the three women-the "three graces," as Franklin Delano Roosevelt called them-were nearly inseparable and forged a female-centered community for each other, for family, and for New York's progressive women. Examining this network of close female friends gives readers a more comprehensive picture of the Roosevelts and Eleanor's burgeoning independence in the years that marked Franklin's rise to power in politics. Wilson takes care to show all the nuances and complexities of the women's relationship, which blended the political with the personal. Val-Kill was not only home to Eleanor Roosevelt but also a crucial part of how she became one of the most admired American political figures of the twentieth century. In Wilson's telling, she emerges out of the shadows of monumental histories and documentaries as a woman in search of herself.

This lively and comprehensive volume accords North Carolina women their long-awaited place in history. Margaret Supplee Smith and Emily Herring Wilson bring together a wealth of stories and pictures to demonstrate how North Carolina women lived, from the days of early native settlements to the end of World War II. Covering women from all 100 North Carolina counties, the book also includes 22 biographies of notable women. Filled with names, places, colorful anecdotes, and more than two hundred photographs and documents that bring to life important moments in history, ""North Carolina Women"" establishes the critical influence of women in shaping the character and economy of the state and the values of its citizens. A pleasure to read, this book is also a wonderful teaching resource.