"Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson"

Our guest is Rebecca Boggs Roberts, an educator, author, and noted historian of American women's suffrage and civic participation. She's currently the deputy director of events at the Library of Congress; she has previously worked as a journalist, tour guide, forensic anthropologist, radio talk-show host, and more. She joins us to talk about her new book on the life and times of First Lady Edith Wilson, who was arguably the most powerful non-president ever to wield power in the White House. As was noted of this work by Publishers Weekly: "A solid biography of first lady Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.... As Roberts succinctly puts it, Edith became 'the most powerful woman in the nation,' while pretending to be 'nothing of the kind.' Enriched with incisive sketches of the era's political figures, including socialite Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and concise history lessons on the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, and more, this is a rich portrait of a singular first lady."