Rodham

From the New York Times bestselling author of Eligible and American Wife comes a gripping thriller that explores a fascinating hypothetical scenario: what if Hillary Rodham hadn't wed Bill Clinton?

Hillary Rodham is a bright young lady in 1971. She is attending Yale Law School, a woman of promise who has had her Wellesley commencement speech featured in Life magazine, and a leader in the women's rights movement and student activism. She then gets to know Bill Clinton. Bill, a fellow law student and attractive, charming Southerner, is already organizing his political future. The two discover a deep mental, emotional, and physical bond with one another that neither has known before.

In reality, Hillary followed Bill back to Arkansas, where he made multiple proposals. She declined each time, but as we all know, she eventually said yes and changed her name to Hillary Clinton.

In Curtis Sittenfeld's vividly envisioned work of fiction, however, Hillary chooses a different path. With uncertainty about the upcoming union, she bears the painful split and departs from Arkansas. She forges her own route over the ensuing forty years, one that is both public and private, one that entails repeatedly crossing paths with Bill Clinton, and one that poses issues regarding the compromises that each of us must make while constructing a life.

Curtis Sittenfeld presents a hauntingly clever and funny story for our times by deftly fusing a captivating fictional story into real historical events. Rodham is a unique and remarkable story that explores the loneliness, moral ambiguity, and steely determination that define the pursuit of political power, as well as the excitement and difficult sacrifices required of female ambition in a world still dominated by men.