Chapters 1-2 Summary and Analysis

Eleanor begins her story by introducing her maternal grandparents, the Halls. Her grandfather died young, leaving her grandmother to raise the children. Eleanor's mother, Anna Hall, married Elliott Roosevelt at the age of nineteen. The senior Elliott had a drinking problem and spent time in a French sanitarium. After the birth of Eleanor's brother, Hall, in France, Anna and the children returned to the United States without Elliott. He lived apart from them up until Anna's death in 1892. After that, the children went to live with grandmother Hall of West 37th Street.

Eleanor adored her father. When her mother died, he told her that someday they would be together, but her brothers were too small and they were all better off at grandmother Hall's. He would visit her whenever he could. Her aunts Pussie and Maude and her uncle Vallie also lived in...