Roosevelt comes to life at Theodore’s

Bibliophiles and history-lovers alike made their way to Theodore’s Books in Oyster Bay for a discussion with author Jeff Shaara to discuss his newest novel “The Old Lion: A Novel of Theodore Roosevelt.” Shaara, whose father Michael was famous for his novel series on the Civil War, spoke in a Q&A format along with Theodore’s’ owner Steve Israel and Howard Ehrlich, chief executive officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. 

The book follows the life of Roosevelt from his early childhood to his many adventures, presidency and beyond, told as a series of flashbacks while on the president’s deathbed. Shaara mentioned that he chose to write about Roosevelt because of his larger-than-life personality and his prodigious talents and interests.

“To describe this man in as simple a way as possible; he is a father, a son, an uncle (Eleanor Roosevelt was his niece), an author, a conservationist, a historian, an explorer, a soldier, a naturalist, a police commissioner, a sportsman, a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor,” Shaara explained. “Now if that doesn’t make for an interesting character, I don’t know what does.”

Ehrlich and Israel took turns asking Shaara a wide range of questions about the novel, covering everything from stylistic choices the author made to which aspects of Roosevelt’s life and personal relationships he found the most fascinating. Shaara explained that one of the best surprises he found while researching the book was Roosevelt’s staunch support for women’s right to vote, a cause that may seem antithetical to a 19th century man who so heartily embraced traditionally masculine pursuits.

One question asked by Israel regarded the difficulties of writing historical fiction, which poses unique issues of “getting it right in terms of historical accuracy, credibility and authenticity.” Shaara admitted jokingly that “I don’t know,” before explaining that in his mind following the facts is the easy part; it’s finding the dialogue and voice of his characters that he finds most complex.

“The history part is easy; the facts are there, and you just have to read it and make notes and get it right,” Shaara continued. “It’s the other part that’s the ‘magic,’ and I use that word guardedly, because I don’t know how writing happens ... the goal is to write authentic dialogue, but where that comes from and what pipeline is feeding that into my head, I don’t know.”

Ehrlich also asked Shaara about a specific chapter which dealt with the worst day of Roosevelt’s life — February 14, 1884, the day Roosevelt’s mother Mittie and wife Alice both died. Shaara emphasized that Roosevelt, despite all of his accomplishments, was just a man, who struggled and fought with those emotions and that pain in his own way, and how deeply affecting it was to read about the personal turmoil that Roosevelt experienced.

Afterwards, attendees were able to ask questions of Shaara as well, ranging from who his favorite side character in the novel was to his thoughts on Roosevelt’s relationships with his famous niece Eleanor. Shaara also signed copies of his book, which is still for sale at Theodore’s.