Chapter 7 Summary and Analysis

After five years away, Kay finds Washington, DC, a vibrant, youthful city, swept clean of stodginess. As the publisher's daughter, she finds it wiser to work in the editorial department than on the streets as a reporter. With the New Deal giving way to war preparations, the Post has grown less critical of FDR. Kay is part of the press corps that attends FDR's press conference in the Oval Office after Hitler invades Poland. Kay's pacifist boss, Felix Morley, finds himself at odds with Father and is replaced by Elmer Davis. Kay writes "light editorials" for the first year and edits letters to the editor. She gets to know many of the reporters well.

Eligible young men abound in Washington, many living like kings by pooling their resources in low-cost bachelor houses. Through fellow reporters who room in one of these...