ESLANDA: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson

Throughout this journey, Ransby emphasizes Eslanda Robeson's commitment to confronting racism, ending colonialism, support- ing socialism and communism, and advocating for women. Because Ransby has sought to write a political biography, much of the narra- tive focuses on Eslanda Robeson's life from her thirties onward, when she began to develop a greater political consciousness. While Ransby seeks to extricate Eslanda from Paul's shadow, she also points to the important role Eslanda played in advancing his career, sometimes at the expense of her own, and how the title Mrs. Paul Robeson gave her access to people who otherwise may not have acknowledged her. Because their marriage became strained by Paul's infidelities, the two came to an agreement to have a non-monogamous relationship and often spent extended periods apart, living "parallel but gently over- lapping lives" (142).