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think Dorothy felt she was deceived, but probably more by her mother.”
    Today a rift remains in the Rodham family related to these events, and only a few facts are indisputable. The role of Rosenberg in the life of Hillary and her family has always been clouded. The first time Hillary mentioned her stepgrandfather publicly was in 1999, during her Senate campaign in New York, after his existence was disclosed by the
Forward,
a secular Jewish weekly. (She did not include the information in her first book.) “I have nothing but fond memories of Max Rosenberg,” Hillary said in response to the
Forward
’s story, and recalled family get-togethers at the home of Della and Max. In
Living History
she wrote only a single sentence about him, simply acknowledging he was Jewish.
    Dorothy supported herself by doing office work. When she met Hugh Rodham, she was eighteen, he was twenty-six. Hillary claimed her mother was attracted by his gruff personality, however unlikely that seems.
    In the last years of his life, Hugh would tell one of his daughters-in-law that, at first sight, he thought Dorothy was absolutely beautiful. Tony Rodham was amazed when he heard what his father had said; he had never known him to openly express such affection for his wife. She also seemed strong and intelligent to Hugh, qualities that he sometimes seemed unsure of in himself.
    After Dorothy and Hugh’s marriage in 1942, and Hugh’s discharge from the Navy in 1945, he and Dorothy moved into a one-bedroom apartment in a building owned by Rosenberg—probably rent-free, according to Oscar Dowdy and others. Isabelle and her husband also lived in the building. Hillary and Oscar played together as children. *3
    Hillary described Della as “weak and self-indulgent,” addicted to soap operas, and “disengaged from reality.” She could occasionally “be enchanting.” When Hillary visited her she would be taken to amusement parks and the movies. She died in 1960, unhappy and still “a mystery,” according to Hillary.
    Dorothy Rodham never took kindly to Max Rosenberg, but Hugh Rodham apparently did, accepting his offer of an apartment, and of advice in financial matters. “They were both hustlers,” said Oscar Dowdy. “They understood each other. And I think Max admired Hugh. Max realized that Hugh was trying to do something with his life, and Hugh would listen to Max and take Max’s advice…. Over the years, Maxhelped Hugh with financial matters and gave him business advice and probably loaned him money.”
    Rosenberg agreed to back Hugh in his parking lot venture, counseling him to run for alderman and, if elected, initiate a change in the zoning laws favorable to their investment.
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    P ERHAPS AS A RESULT of her own grim childhood without a real home, being a competent homemaker was important to Dorothy. At the cabin in Pennsylvania, she assembled a collection of stained glass. Other small collections materialized, which Hugh Rodham grudgingly—and gradually—agreed to let her purchase. She took pride in her visual sense through paint colors and choices of inexpensive department store furniture for the house on Wisner Street. Though Hugh told endless stories about his boyhood and family in Pennsylvania, Dorothy rarely spoke of early life. “I realized that there was a sadness about Dorothy,” said Betsy Ebeling. “I don’t know if ‘beaten down’ is the term—isolated sometimes. She lived through her children a lot. It was very important to her that her children be happy. I don’t think she thought she could be happy, though she could laugh a lot.” Some visitors to the Rodham home noted a certain fear in Dorothy—fear of being left alone.
    Dorothy made her own uneasy peace with her husband (“Mr. Difficult,” she called him) and, when the children were still young, had decided to stay in the marriage. Keeping the family