The Roosevelts and Edith Wharton
It’s not certain the exact date TR met Edith Wharton, but we do know in early 1896 the future first lady had lunch with Wharton in New York City. It was during the time the Roosevelts were living at 689 Madison Avenue while TR was President of the City Police Commission.
Edith Wharton was also a distant relative to Edith Carow . Wharton’s Grandfather’s grandfather was Edith’s great-grandfather’s grandfather.
We also know in May 1897 while Assistant Secretary of the Navy TR turned down an invitation to visit her at her home "Lands End” in Newport, Rhode Island. Soon after TR became president he invited Edith Wharton to the White House.
The two were friends leading up to his presidency. They got to know one another corresponding back and forth on literary topics and political issues.
Edith Wharton was the first women to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. She won in the category of “Fiction.” She was also nominated on three occasions to be considered for a Nobel Prize, but was not selected.
In 1911 the First Lady fell from her horse riding alongside Cove Road in Oyster Bay and suffered a severe concussion. Wharton sent her a get well message and TR replied his wife was reading her book Ethan Frome and was one of the first things she read during her recovery. She would eventually recover, but lose her sense of smell.
