{"product_id":"the-improbable-victoria-woodhull-suffrage-free-love-and-the-first-woman-to-run-for-president-eden-collinsworth-hardcover","title":"The Improbable Victoria Woodhull: Suffrage, Free Love, and the First Woman to Run for President -- Eden Collinsworth, Hardcover","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW \u003c\/i\u003eEDITORS' CHOICE - From the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eWhat the Ermine Saw\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBehaving Badly\u003c\/i\u003e, a portrait of Victoria Woodhull, a celebrated and maligned 19th-century businesswoman and activist, and a leader in the fight for women's suffrage and labor reforms.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1894, a remarkably self-possessed American woman, with no formal education to speak of, stood before a British court seeking damages for libel from the trustees of the British Museum. It was yet another stop along the unpredictable route that was Victoria Woodhull's life. Born dirt-poor in an obscure Ohio settlement, Woodhull was the daughter of an illiterate mother entranced by the fad of Mesmerism--a therapeutic pseudoscience--and a swindler father whose cons exploited his two daughters. It was through her mother, though, that Woodhull familiarized herself with the supernatural realm, earning a degree of fame as a clairvoyant and her first taste of financial success. Woodhull's life would continue to turn on its axis and then turn again. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDespite a deeply troubled first marriage at the age of fourteen, countless attempts by the press to discredit her, and a wrongful jail sentence, Woodhull thrived through sheer determination and the strength of her bond with her sister Tennie. She co-founded a successful stock brokerage on Wall Street, launched a newspaper, and became the first woman to run for president. Hers was a rags-to-riches story that saw her cross paths with Karl Marx, Henry Ward Beecher, and Frederick Douglass. In an era when women's rights were circumscribed, and the idea of leaving a marriage was taboo, she broke the rules to carve out a path of her own. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVividly written and exhaustively researched, Collinsworth tells the story of a woman truly ahead of her time--a radical visionary who made defying mores a habit and brought to the fore societal and political issues still being addressed today. Neither a saint nor a villain, Woodhull emerges as an iconic, complex woman: an entrepreneur; lover of freedom; and a fiercely loyal family member whose political activism and suffragist legacy will cement her in history.\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Eden Collinsworth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Doubleday Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9\/2\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.03 lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9.48\" H x 5.43\" L x 1.2\" W\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780385549578\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Flowerburst","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50551659626800,"sku":"9780385549578","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2712\/8368\/files\/9780385549578_72c96cb2-392d-4c3d-8477-1bdbec40ca5a.jpg?v=1774406485","url":"https:\/\/flowerburst.co\/products\/the-improbable-victoria-woodhull-suffrage-free-love-and-the-first-woman-to-run-for-president-eden-collinsworth-hardcover","provider":"Flowerburst","version":"1.0","type":"link"}