NEW RELEASE
"Another solid presidential love story. . . The authenticity of Theodore’s feelings for Alice is made palpable in the magnetic narrative.." -- Publishers Weekly
"An entertaining novel to devour with tissues nearby." -- The Historical Novel Society
If a Poem Could Live and Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt’s First Love
Studded with the real love letters between a young Theodore Roosevelt and Boston beauty Alice Lee—many of them never-before-published—If a Poem Could Live and Breathe makes vivid what many historians believe to be the pivotal years that made the future president into the man of action that defined his political life, and cemented his legacy.
Cambridge, 1878. The era of the Gilded Age. Alice Lee sets out to break from the norms of her mother’s generation. Women are fighting for educational opportunities and exploring a new sense of intellectual and personal freedom. Native New Yorker, Harvard student Teddy Roosevelt, is on his own journey of discovery, and when they meet, unrelenting currents of love change the trajectory of his life forever.
If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is an indelible portrait of the authenticity of first love, the heartache of loss, and how overcoming the worst of life’s obstacles can push one to greatness never imagined.
FOR PRESS INQUIRIES: katie.bassel@stmartins.com
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Past Works by Mary Calvi:
Subject of a documentary on Smithsonian Channel, the award-winning novel, Dear George, Dear Mary is a never-before-told story, hidden away for centuries, revealing that long before tea was tossed into Boston Harbor, unrequited love helped spark a flame that ignited a cause that became the American Revolution. Crafted from thousands of archived letters, witness accounts, journal entries, documents and published articles, the novel based on the true account, explores the relationship between George Washington & his first love, the richest belle of Colonial America, Mary Eliza Philipse.
Journalist Mary Calvi's debut novel will leave you second guessing what you’ve known about George Washington in his youth. Historical figures, including Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Daniel Boone, and Nathan Hale, help weave an intricately told story of love, deception, & vengeance.
Prepare to be swept away into the 1700s, from breathtaking scenes of New York’s polite society to battlefield victories in Harlem and beyond. Dramatic portraits unveil a Washington on the precipice of greatness, who is also a writer of romantic poetry and a fine dancer. His ravishing love is New York heiress, Mary Eliza Philipse, whose beauty and refinement disguise a deep and complex inner struggle.
Philipse Manor Hall, unknown artist “D.R.” Probably New York, post-1783, ink wash on paper. Gift of La Duchesse de Talleyrand. Historic Hudson Valley, Pocantico Hills, NY (PM.65.866).
Reader Reviews
"I felt like I was standing next to George Washington and Mary Philipse as I was reading it. The story is well written and emotional. A must read..." -Heather B. ★★★★★
"This is a thoroughly researched and beautifully written story about a small slice of American history, but one that had an enormous impact on our young country. The author makes George Washington and Mary Philipse, as well as the times in which they lived, come alive and gives us an insight into the man who became the Father of our Country." -Nancy ★★★★★
“I just finished this book. I couldn't put it down...it was THAT good!” - Simone ★★★★★
About the Author
MARY CALVI is a 14-time New York Emmy award-winning journalist. Her second novel, IF A POEM COULD LIVE AND BREATHE: A NOVEL OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S FIRST LOVE, is based on love letters from the Gilded Age to and from Roosevelt and his first love, Alice Lee. Many of these letters have never been published and were long believed destroyed. Her in-depth research for her debut book, DEAR GEORGE, DEAR MARY: A NOVEL OF GEORGE WASHINGTON’S FIRST LOVE, is the basis of a Smithsonian Channel documentary.
Here, the author examines the Declaration of Dependence at New-York Historical Society.
Published Reviews
“Calvi’s portrait of Washington as an earnest young man striving for success but beleaguered on every front is convincing and, in a way, endearing. It is also a fascinating and unique look at pre-Revolutionary War society, with its misunderstandings and simmering resentments, and notable for the author’s use of contemporaneous documents.” -BOOKLIST
"Calvi’s debut skillfully depicts the ill-fated love story of a promising 24-year-old colonel named George Washington and Mary Eliza Philipse, a...New York heiress, {in this} 'affecting' narrative." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“VERDICT Drawn from scores of primary sources, Calvi’s intricately crafted reimagining of a relationship with potentially revolutionary ramifications will fascinate historical fiction fans and romance lovers alike.” - LIBRARY JOURNAL
Published by St. Martin's Press