Supporting Radical Women: Blanche Wiesen Cook and Feminist Biography

This talk reflects on the influence of Blanche Wiesen Cook’s pivotal 1977 essay, "Female Support Networks and Political Activism: Lillian Wald, Crystal Eastman, Emma Goldman" and on her work as Eleanor Roosevelt's biographer.   How has Blanche Wiesen Cook impacted historical scholarship by consistently holding together the personal and political in the study of women's lives?  What key themes persist in her work and how do they reflect changes in politics and scholarship from the late 1970s to the present?