I heard about Becoming Madam Secretary (#1,222) at one of my book clubs. It's Stephanie Dray's fictionalized biographical novel about Frances Perkins. She became the Secretary of Labor and first female Cabinet Secretary in the Administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. If you've ever earned or received a Social Security benefit, you have Miss Perkins to thank for it. For someone who so broadly affected everyday Americans' lives, it is astonishing how few people have ever heard of her, or realize her significance.
Ms. Dray has done an admirable job of fixing that knowledge gap. She makes Frances Perkins' life relatable and compelling. She certainly did not have an easy life, but she was driven by her conviction to do the "right thing" and make people's lives better. She was fortunate to have met up with the powerful movers and shakers of her era to make her forward progress possible. It's quite a story. Highly recommended.
Just one minor quibble: Frances Perkins was known for wearing the then-fashionable tricorn hats. In fact, Ms. Dray even states in her prelude "...in a fur-trimmed coat and my trademark tricorn hat". So why, in both the standard and large-print editions of Becoming Madam Secretary does the cover art show her in generic round-brimmed hat? Oh, well. At least her story's out there now.
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