The History Book Club discussion

Hello Everyone,

This is the discussion for the book Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life & the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt by David MCullough.

Today begins the ninth week's reading in our new Presidential Series group discussion.

The complete table of contents is as follows:

Syllabus

Mornings On Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt

Table of Contents

Author's Note 9

Part One
ONE: Greatheart's Circle p.19
TWO: Lady from the South p.39
THREE: Grand Tour p.69
FOUR: A Disease of the Direst Suffering p.90
FIVE: Metamorphosis p.109

Part Two
SIX: Uptown p.131
SEVEN: The Moral Effect p.149
EIGHT: Father and Son p. 160

Part Three
NINE: Harvard p. 195
TEN: Especially Pretty Alice p. 218
ELEVEN: Home is the Hunter p. 237
TWELVE: Politics p. 251
THIRTEEN: Strange and Terrible Fate p. 277
FOURTEEN: Chicago p. 289
FIFTEEN: Glory Days p. 316
SIXTEEN: Return p. 351

Afterward p. 362

Notes p. 373
Bibliography p. 413
Index p. 427

The assignment for this week includes the following segments/pages:

Week Nine - July 26th - August 1st - > Chapter TEN and ELEVEN p. 218 - 250
TEN - Especially Pretty Alice and ELEVEN - Home is the Hunter

We look forward to your participation; but remember this is a non spoiler thread.

We will open up threads for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers.

This book was kicked off on May 30th. This will be the ninth week's assignment for this book.

We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, or on your Kindle.

A special welcome to those who will be newcomers to this discussion and thank you to those who have actively contributed on the previous Presidential Series selection. We are glad to have you all.

~Bentley

TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS SELECT VIEW ALL

David McCullough

Welcome TR readers:

Chapter 10 focusing on TR's first wife, Alice Lee. Alice met TR while he was in his junior year at Harvard and she comes from a Boston family. For him, it was love at first sight. They take long walks, go to dinners, and dances, all the usual Victorian society events. He proposes to her in June 1879, but she puts him off. They still date, but it is during this time, we see TR's passion when another man comes hovering around, so TR buys French dueling pistols just in case! Well, they get engaged by the following February, and there is a family reception, tea, and more dinner parties. Whew, quite busy. They are married on October 27, 1880. They go to Oyster Bay, then to Europe in the summer for a proper honeymoon. When they return, TR starts Columbia Law School, works on his War of 1812 Naval History, and takes over some of the philanthropy from his father. We also find out that his sister is engaged to a Douglas Robinson, a guy that many are not very keen on. We also learn Alice bonds with TR's sisters, as a clan, his sisters are close to him and his mother, so it comes with the territory. You marry into the family in a strong sense.

Chapter 11 covers Elliott, TR's brother. We learn from the previous chapter that TR and Elliott go to Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota for some hunting. However, Elliott goes to India to hunt big game like tigers and elephants, something TR really wants to do. Elliott returns and begins to invest in NYC real estate. We learn the relationship between Elliott and his mother is very strong, she almost "baby's him." TR's brother seems to be the charmer, less combative than TR. He also is an alcoholic. At the end of the chapter, Elliott marries Anna Hall in 1883.

In these two chapters, we also get a peek into TR's life as votes for James A. Garfield for president (1880), he goes into politics, he invests in a cattle ranch in Wyoming and land at Oyster Bay, and moves near Corrine and Douglas on W. 45th street.

You definitely get the impression that TR's love for Alice is very strong. He writes, "she is so pure and holy that it seems almost profanation to touch her, no matter how gently and tenderly; and yet when we are alone I cannot bear her to be a minute out of my arms." (p. 230)

For TR, what do you think is Alice's best characteristics?

In his upbringing, what did he learn about what's most important in a wife?

My sense is that Mittie and Theodore were clearly devoted to one another, deeply in love. Mittie also loved life and was a warm person.

However, I'm not sure about the germ phobia/cleanliness...could be just a Mittie thing...

FDR's family makes an appearance in this chapter. We learn at one of the parties that James meets Sara Delano. Later on Elliott becomes FDR's godfather.

Here is a family link from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevel...

Has anyone read TR's book he completes in these chapters?

Theodore Roosevelt

Bryan wrote: "Has anyone read TR's book he completes in these chapters?

Theodore Roosevelt"

Yes, I read it about 40 years ago.

I read it too probably 15 years ago for a literature review on the causes of the War of 1812. I remember it being pretty impressive with the facts at the time it was written, but it was very, very dry. Didn't have much passion to read it again.