AWARD-WINNING journalist and best-selling author
Susan Page
Susan Page is the award-winning Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY. She is also the New York Times best-selling author of The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty (Twelve, 2019); Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power (Twelve, 2021), and The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters (Simon & Schuster, 2024). Her latest book is The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History, being published by HarperCollins in April 2026.
The Crown meets The West Wing in this illuminating history that chronicles the largely unknown story of Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with thirteen American presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Donald J. Trump, and changed world history.
No American or foreign leader has met with as many sitting presidents as Queen Elizabeth II. Her Royal Majesty’s seventy-year reign witnessed the highs and lows of the close and crucial alliance between the U.S. and the U.K., from the Suez crisis to Brexit.
Following the advice of her mentor, Winston Churchill, to “stay close to the Americans,” Queen Elizabeth played an unexpected role behind the scenes that has never been thoroughly explored. In The Queen and Her Presidents, veteran political reporter Susan Page goes beyond the image of a staid monarch in colorful hats to reveal a skilled strategist, who, like many powerful women, was routinely underestimated and discounted.
Page also shows the impact American presidents had on the monarch as she developed from a shy, anxious princess to a powerful and persuasive global leader, and analyzes both the reach and the limits of the “soft power” she wielded. These accounts of the Queen’s deft diplomacy provide candid and telling assessments of her partners in the Oval Office as well.
The Queen is available for order online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.
PRAISE FOR susan page’s books
Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright on Madam Speaker: "Long considered one of America’s finest journalists, Susan Page’s newest book cements her reputation as one of our foremost political biographers. In exploring the remarkable life of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Susan has painted a compelling portrait of determination, resilience, and patriotism that is the essence of American democracy." —
The Washington Post on The Matriarch: "[A] highly readable portrait...Like the arc of her life itself, [Bush] created a bridge for first ladies that reached from traditional feminine pursuits to modern feminism. This definitive biography is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the complex role of presidential spouses."
Leslie Stahl on The Rulebreaker: “Susan Page pulls a Barbara Walters -- asking all the right questions, just as personal and sharp as Barbara used to in her X-ray-penetrating interrogations: how did she land her "gets," how did plot out her interviews, who did she think of she thought of as her rivals (and how she dealt with them)... along with questions about her far less successful personal life. “
The Atlantic on The Matriarch: "The Matriarch is the rare biography of a public figure that's not only beautifully written, but also shockingly revelatory."
Norah O’Donnell on The Rulebreaker: “A stunning account of Barbara Walters’ journey to change television – and history – as we know it.”
Former White House press secretary and Fox News host Dana Perino: "With her biography of First Lady Barbara Bush and her new book about Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Susan Page has distinguished herself as a chronicler of women public figures who defied odds, raised eyebrows, and ultimately found that being true to themselves and not worrying about what others thought or said about them was the key to success and happiness as they defined it. As with her first biography, Madam Speaker will be a resource to historians and anyone who wants to understand the influence this powerful, sometimes controversial, occasionally ruthless, and fiercely determined woman has had on our national life."
Photo by Hannah Gaber