THE FIRST LADIES

Narrators Robin Miles and Tavia Gilbert are an enchanting duet in this historical fiction. In alternating chapters, they navigate the decades-long friendship and political partnership of Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt. After an initial meeting fraught with racial inequity and tension, Bethune and Roosevelt forge a bond rooted in their shared concerns about education and civil rights. Miles voices Mary as a woman of great purpose who acknowledges injustice while refusing to be constrained by it. Her measured yet firm tones are softened by her Southern accent. Gilbert's Eleanor is initially less certain of her intentions but grows to understand the power she wields as first lady to achieve the goals she decides upon. Gilbert captures Eleanor's recognizable slightly high, clipped speaking voice. N.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2023]