American Queenmaker

Marie "Missy" Mattingly Meloney was born in 1878, in an America where women couldn't vote and had extremely limited political power. By the time she died in 1943, women had been voting for over two decades and were a recognised political block. This seems like an inevitability but in many ways it was Missy who created the idea of the female demographic. As a journalist, editor and political adviser, Missy is responsible for bringing women into American political culture as recognised consumers of political content, as a voting demographic to be targeted and reckoned with and as political operatives in their own right.

Even before the passage of the 19th Amendment, Missy was carving out space for women in politics. As Editor-in-Chief of three major women's periodicals (at a time when few women held positions of such power), Missy forced publishers to recognise women writers and readers as cohorts worth taking seriously. She was aware of the purchasing power of women but also of the hole in the market for publications that spoke directly to them in a serious way. As a woman's editor, she made it increasingly acceptable for women to engage with politics as consumers, authors and journalists. In the process, she brought women writers to the mainstream and helped get women in the door of political and war reporting.

Thanks to her instincts about how to appeal to women as a political cohort, she became the first campaign adviser to target them as a demographic. Hoover called her in to help him figure out how to appeal to women voters and gave her an official post in his administration. Informally, she was the first female political adviser to Coolidge, Bill Donovan and even FDR, despite being a political operative for the Republican Party. At the same time, Missy was a major player herself in early 20th century history. She was friend and confidante to artists, authors, diplomats and dictators-it was to her that Mussolini first confided his plans to invade Ethiopia. She was Marie Curie's publicist and she secured the funding for Mount Rushmore. Missy did all this and so much more, without ruffling any feathers. No firebrand or militant suffragette, Missy worked behind the scenes, making connections and gently influencing those in power.

And so history has forgotten her.

In this first biography of Missy Meloney, historian Julie Des Jardins restores Missy to her rightful place in history-as a trailblazer who transformed America.

“"Julie Des Jardins brings her considerable skill andinsight to a biography of Missy Meloney, a pioneering newspaper editor, anadvisor to presidents and policy makers, a friend to Eleanor Roosevelt andHerbert Hoover, and a mentor to artists, writers, and scientiststhroughout the first half of the 20th century. Des Jardins explores the impactof a gender ideology that forced women like Meloney to couch theirunprecedented achievements in the male public sphere as feminine sacrifice. In this compellingstudy, Des Jardins brings Missy Meloney out of the shadows and allows her atlast the public acclaim she deserves."-- Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History, Emerita, CUNY and editor of the series Lives of American Women”

"American Queenmaker gives overdue recognition to one of America's foremost journalists."--Wall Street Journal
"A meticulously researched and readable biography that will engage readers interested in women's history and journalism, and in 20th-century social reform."--Library Journal
"Des Jardins makes a convincing case for Meloney's crucial role in showing American women how to flex their political muscle. Readers interested in women's issues will find this to be a valuable contribution to the subject."-- Publishers Weekly
"Julie Des Jardins has done a fine job conjuring Missy Meloney as a force of nature and championing a woman who was herself a champion -- especially of strong women. As a journalist, editor, and publicist, Meloney was skilled at diverting attention toward others, yet in American Queenmaker, Des Jardins has placed Meloney at center stage."--Susan Quinn, author of Marie Curie: A Life and Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair that Shaped a First Lady
"JulieDes Jardins brings her considerable skill and insight to a biography of Missy Meloney, a pioneering newspaper editor, an advisor to presidents and policy makers, a friend to Eleanor Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, and a mentor to artists, writers, and scientists throughout the first half of the 20th century. Des Jardins explores the impact of a gender ideology that forced women like Meloney to couch their unprecedented achievements in the male public sphere as feminine sacrifice. In this compelling study, Des Jardins brings Missy Meloney out of the shadows and allows her at last the public acclaim she deserves."--Carol Berkin, PresidentialProfessor of History, Emerita, CUNY and editor of the series Lives of AmericanWomen
"Missy Meloney was a uniquely powerful woman-and she used that power not to advance her own career (impressive as it was), but to advance the careers of other women and the causes they cared most deeply about. Her fingerprints are all over early 20th century politics, mass media, and popular culture but we are only now seeing them thanks to Julie Des Jardins's intimate and groundbreaking biography."--Susan Ware, author of WhyThey Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote
"The first biography of Marie Mattingly Meloney... opens our eyes to a woman who should be a household name."--Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Julie Des Jardins holds a PhD in American Women's and Gender History from Brown and until 2014 was a full professor of history at Baruch College, CUNY. She has taught at Harvard, Macalester, Tufts and currently sits on the Advisory Council of National Women's History Museum in Washington, D.C. The author of four critically-acclaimed books (including a volume on Lillian Gilbreth for Westview's Lives of American Women series, edited by Carol Berkin), she regularly writes for academic journals and has written for the Smithsonian Magazine and Salon. She lectures widely on gender in America. Des Jardins lives in San Carlo

Marie "Missy" Mattingly Meloney was born in 1878, in an America where women couldn't vote and had extremely limited political power. By the time she died in 1943, women had been voting for over two decades and were a recognised political block. This seems like an inevitability but in many ways it was Missy who created the idea of the female demographic. As a journalist, editor and political adviser, Missy is responsible for bringing women into American political culture as recognised consumers of political content, as a voting demographic to be targeted and reckoned with and as political operatives in their own right. Even before the passage of the 19th Amendment, Missy was carving out space for women in politics. As Editor-in-Chief of three major women's periodicals (at a time when few women held positions of such power), Missy forced publishers to recognise women writers and readers as cohorts worth taking seriously. She was aware of the purchasing power of women but also of the hole in the market for publications that spoke directly to them in a serious way. As a woman's editor, she made it increasingly acceptable for women to engage with politics as consumers, authors and journalists. In the process, she brought women writers to the mainstream and helped get women in the door of political and war reporting. Thanks to her instincts about how to appeal to women as a political cohort, she became the first campaign adviser to target them as a demographic. Hoover called her in to help him figure out how to appeal to women voters and gave her an official post in his administration. Informally, she was the first female political adviser to Coolidge, Bill Donovan and even FDR, despite being a political operative for the Republican Party. At the same time, Missy was a major player herself in early 20th century history. She was friend and confidante to artists, authors, diplomats and dictators-it was to her that Mussolini first confided his plans to invade Ethiopia. She was Marie Curie's publicist and she secured the funding for Mount Rushmore. Missy did all this and so much more, without ruffling any feathers. No firebrand or militant suffragette, Missy worked behind the scenes, making connections and gently influencing those in power. And so history has forgotten her. In this first biography of Missy Meloney, historian Julie Des Jardins restores Missy to her rightful place in history-as a trailblazer who transformed America.

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