Relations between Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are “fraught with hurt feelings and resentment”, with America’s first lady “looking down” on the Democratic presidential frontrunner and her family, according to a newly published book.

Tensions between the two women date from the 2008 presidential campaign, when Mrs Obama’s husband, Barack, defeated Mrs Clinton for the Democratic nomination and subsequently took the White House, writes author Kate Andersen Brower in First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies.

“The 2008 presidential campaign left deep and lasting scars on both the Clinton and the Obama camps, and they are still shockingly fresh,” says the book, which is published on Tuesday by Collins.

Mrs Obama, 52, has never forgotten how Mrs Clinton - herself a former first lady - ridiculed her husband’s “hope and change” message in patronising tones.

“The sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing, and everyone will know that we should do the right thing, and the world would be perfect,” Mrs Clinton told a campaign rally in Ohio.

So antagonistic has Mrs Obama become towards her husband’s former adversary that she hoped the vice president, Joe Biden, would stand against Mrs Clinton in this year’s Democratic primaries and win the party’s nomination. After consideration, Mr Biden decided against doing so. The first lady is understood to be close to the vice president and his wife, Jill.