‘Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons’: Behind Every Great Man

Well-spoken, well-connected, and seemingly at ease in almost any environment, Charlotte Gray is something of an anomaly among authors: a writer so engaging that she could fit comfortably alongside the subjects she chooses for her books. That is no small claim, because the British-born Gray – who has lived in Canada for more than a half-century after arriving here at 21 – has a keen eye for compelling characters matched by her ability to bring new information and a fresh take to their circumstances. Her dozen books to date cover topics ranging from the life of inventor Alexander Graham Bell to high-society murders to the 19th century Klondike rush.

Now, Gray’s newest book, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: the Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt, offers expansive settings and characters that are an ideal match for her formidable strengths as researcher, social interpreter and always-elegant writer. As the title suggests, it’s an up-close look at the mothers of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, two of the most important figures of the last century as prime minister of Great Britain and president of the United States during the pivotal years of the Second World War. [MORE]