In 1886 a 21-year-old sparked a media frenzy so intense that mobs crushed to glimpse her, companies faked her endorsements, and politicians drafted legislation to protect her image, all without the internet or a PR team. This deep dive explores how Frances Cleveland essentially invented the modern concept of celebrity survival on the fly.

We trace her path from ward of Grover Cleveland to the youngest First Lady, her savvy management of an industrialized press, the secret cancer surgery she helped conceal during a national panic, and her long, complex life spanning the Gilded Age to the Atomic Age.

• Her rigorous education and unusual guardianship under Grover Cleveland
• Becoming an overnight phenomenon who could tank entire industries
• Using accessibility, like Saturday receptions, as a pressure valve
• Conceal ...