The Yankee Sphinx
An FDR Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected May 5, 2026
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
“A COMPASSIONATE story about one of the most consequential Americans of the 20th century.” —Kirkus (STARRED review)
An extraordinary work of historical fiction by the co-creator of TWIN PEAKS—a novel about one of FDR’s closest wartime advisers and the president’s final days, INSPIRED BY THE AUTHOR'S OWN FAMILY
In 1934, Will Hassett is working as a journalist when he gets a call from an old friend who now works at the White House. He arrives expecting to catch up on old times but is instead brought right into the Oval Office to meet with Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR needs help on his speeches; Will takes the job on the spot. For the next twelve years, Will is at FDR’s side through the worst of the Depression, three reelection campaigns, and World War II.
The Yankee Sphinx, inspired by Will Hassett’s real diaries, focuses on the last few years of FDR’s life. The war is raging in Europe and FDR’s good friend, Winston Churchill, begs for America’s help. But Roosevelt knows he can’t bring the country in until it’s ready, an opportunity that won’t arise until the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941.
From Will’s empathetic perspective, we witness FDR managing the Allied military campaign abroad and parrying shots from isolationist politicians at home—all while reckoning with his rapidly deteriorating health. Will and Anna, Roosevelt's daughter, plot an intervention to get him a doctor more up to speed on a new discipline called “cardiology” so the president can maintain his strength and end the war.
Elegantly written, bursting with personality, and perfectly capturing life in wartime Washington, The Yankee Sphinx is a marvelous work by one of our most versatile writers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Frost (Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier) delivers an immersive if underwhelming novel of President Franklin Roosevelt as seen through the eyes of one of the lesser-known members of his staff. In 1934, journalist Bill Hassett, a friend of the president, is invited to the Oval Office, and they begin a long-running working relationship, with Hassett serving as speechwriter and confidant. From the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 through early 1945, Hassett watches as Roosevelt makes war plans with his closest adviser, Harry Hopkins, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, going back and forth between these two imposing men to organize a military alliance against Germany and Japan. The author also brings into focus lesser-known figures like Roosevelt's daughter, Anna, who helps Hassett deal with her father's secret health problems; and Lucy Mercer, whose on-again, off-again romance with FDR continues until his death. Based on Hassett's diaries, the novel takes readers inside FDR's inner circle, but there is nothing revelatory or especially dramatic in the depiction of these well-known events. It's a curious project, one that evokes FDR's sphinxlike quality without going much deeper.
