Arguably the first First Daughter subjected to the intrusive scrutiny of the burgeoning modern communications media, Daniel was a George Washington University coed when her father succeeded to the presidency at the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. There were instant lessons in the perils of her unwanted political celebrity.First, she set off something of a public relations food fight when she quietly instructed a waiter "No potatoes, please" and later commented that she drank tomato juice while dieting. The Potato Growers Assn. quickly lodged an official complaint and peppered the White House with protest letters. The Tomato Growers Assn. countered with a shower of letters of approval. Both groups waged a marketing war in national newspapers, magazines, radio and television, touting the nutrition value of their products.
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The 17 mystery novels, which perhaps have afforded Truman her greatest fame second only to her stint as First Daughter, emerged almost by accident. In the late 1970s, she was working on a history of children who had lived in the White House, but lost interest. An avid reader of mystery novels, Truman happened to mention to her agent that she had an idea for a murder set in the White House.
The concept of a former resident concocting a murder story in that setting was irresistible. With the agent's encouragement, "Murder in the White House" was completed and published in 1980.
Truman's grandson Clifton Truman Daniel had his own wry explanation for why his mother turned to writing mystery novels, noting in his memoir: "My mother seems to have a strong opinion, often bad, of almost everyone in Washington. That's why she writes those murder mysteries; so she can kill them all off, one at a time."
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 29 January 2008 17:41 (eighteen years ago)