Hello and welcome to Life of the Week from History Extra, where leading historians delve into the lives of history's most intriguing and significant figures.

From her transformative role as First Lady of the United States during her husband Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency,

to her advocacy for human rights amid personal tumult.

Eleanor Roosevelt's story is one of resilience.

In today's episode, historian and biographer Susan Ware

joins us to discuss Roosevelt's life and achievements.

She spoke to Eleanor Evans.

I wondered if we could start by hearing from you, Susan,

on your own project about Eleanor.

Well, one of the things I'm working on now

is a two-volume collection of Eleanor Roosevelt's writings

for the Library of America. And it has given me an opportunity to

revisit a historical figure who has been central to my entire career as a women's historian.

This is brilliant because we're in such safe hands talking to you about

this remarkable woman. We'd be hard pressed to find someone who's never heard of her, but for

anyone coming cold to her life, can you introduce us to Eleanor Roosevelt? Well, I think the best way to

think about her is to just realize what an improbable life it was, given where it started.

She was born in 1884 into an upper-class American family that is really right out of an Edith Wharton novel. And she is orphaned at an early age,

and her father's an alcoholic. She always feels that she was never as beautiful as her mother.

She's raised by a grandmother in situation where there's some uncles that are in and out

of the house who are also alcoholic and perhaps are bothering the teenage elinor.

I mean, it's just got everything. And yet, out of that comes this woman

...