Memorialised as a US heroine and an iconoclastic humanitarian who sought to protect society's marginalised, Eleanor Roosevelt also, at times, disappointed contemporaries and biographers with some of her stances. Examining a period of her life that has not been extensively explored, this book challenges the previously held universality of Eleanor Roosevelt's humanitarianism.

The Palestinian question is used as a case study to explore the practical application of her commitment to social justice, and the author argues that at times, Roosevelt's humanitarianism was illogical, limited...