Stephanie Dray brings Frances Perkins (1880-1965), U.S. Secretary of Labor and a fierce advocate for workers' rights, to vivid life in yet another gripping historical novel, Becoming Madam Secretary. Told in Perkins's sharp, no-nonsense, compassionate voice, the novel, set against the tumultuous backdrop of early 20th-century American politics, traces her career in social work and public policy.
Dray (The Women of Chateau Lafayette) charts Perkins's course from her work with the poor in Hell's Kitchen (where she befriended Tammany Hall bosses) to her roles as a lobbyist, professor, and advocate for better labor practices. Perkins was present for many events that shaped U.S. policy and politics during her career, including the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the political rise of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But Dray also humanizes her narrator. Perkins is a brilliant intellect who becomes the architect of Social Security and the first female Secretary of Labor; she also is a loyal friend, a devoted wife and mother, and a woman determined to change workers' lives for the better. Dray depicts Perkins's complicated relationship with Roosevelt, marked by contention but also respect, as Roosevelt relied on Frances's political acumen and staunch resolve. As she watches her country suffer during the Great Depression, Frances takes up her pen to draft a New Deal, hoping its implementation will have lasting implications for all Americans.
Becoming Madam Secretary, powerfully told and rich with historical detail, is a nuanced portrait of a brilliant woman and her triumphs in the face of staggering challenges. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams