New book details a Gilded Age romance involving a first lady and a Minn. pastor's future wife

Updated: 4:10 p.m. | Posted: 10:46 a.m.

A new book chronicles the Gilded Age romance between Rose Cleveland, who served as first lady during her brother Grover Cleveland's first term, and Evangeline Simpson, a widow who would marry Minnesota Episcopal bishop Henry Whipple. Their correspondence — and love — spanned decades.

The book, called "Precious and Adored: The Love Letters of Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson Whipple, 1890-1918," was co-edited by Tilly Laskey, now at the Maine Historical Society, and Lizzie Ehrenhalt, a public historian and the editor of MNopedia.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Ehrenhalt about the letters, and the legacy of Whipple and Cleveland's relationship.

Correction (June 25, 2019): In an earlier version of this story, Tilly Laskey name was misspelled.