TLC Book Tours Book Review: Madame Presidentess

About Madame Presidentess

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: Lawson Gartner Publishing (July 24, 2016)

Forty-eight years before women were granted the right to vote, one woman dared to run for President of the United States, yet her name has been virtually written out of the history books.

Rising from the shame of an abusive childhood, Victoria Woodhull, the daughter of a con-man and a religious zealot, vows to follow her destiny, one the spirits say will lead her out of poverty to “become ruler of her people.”

But the road to glory is far from easy. A nightmarish marriage teaches Victoria that women are stronger and deserve far more credit than society gives. Eschewing the conventions of her day, she strikes out on her own to improve herself and the lot of American women.

Over the next several years, she sets into motion plans that shatter the old boys club of Wall Street and defile even the sanctity of the halls of Congress. But it’s not just her ambition that threatens men of wealth and privilege; when she announces her candidacy for President in the 1872 election, they realize she may well usurp the power they’ve so long fought to protect.

Those who support her laud “Notorious Victoria” as a gifted spiritualist medium and healer, a talented financial mind, a fresh voice in the suffrage movement, and the radical idealist needed to move the nation forward. But those who dislike her see a dangerous force who is too willing to speak out when women are expected to be quiet. Ultimately, “Mrs. Satan’s” radical views on women’s rights, equality of the sexes, free love and the role of politics in private affairs collide with her tumultuous personal life to endanger all she has built and change how she is viewed by future generations.

This is the story of one woman who was ahead of her time – a woman who would make waves even in the 21^st century – but who dared to speak out and challenge the conventions of post-Civil War America, setting a precedent that is still followed by female politicians today.

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Review: This is the perfect book for an election year.  This book was really a great book. I can't begin to say how much I enjoyed it.

Victoria Woodhull was a suffragette and the first woman to run for President of the United States back in 1870.

She had quite the life too. She was a spiritualist. Her father was an abusive drunk that used her and her sister for financial gain.

Thinking that marriage would save her from her parents she ended up with a husband that was no better. She had one son to him who was mentally challenged and a daughter, before she left him.

It was when she met Captain Blood that things began to change for her. He really was a kindred spirit and their relationship was one that was supportive, which was really ahead of its time.

Victoria was the first woman along with her sister to open a brokerage firm. Perhaps she didn't get there completely by conventional means, but she was smart and way ahead of her time.

She's a character that you have a lot of feelings about. In her younger years, you feel sorry for her. She's used and abused by those that should love her.

Her family is the biggest detriment to her ambitions. I found myself wondering many times, if she hadn't been so kind to them if she wouldn't have had the problems that she did.

She was definitely a woman ahead of her time and one that I think was terribly misunderstood. I also think if she had been more educated in her early years she would have been even more formidable.

Victoria is a fascinating person and when you finish the book, you'll feel bad that she isn't 'remembered much in the history of our country.

Rating: 5 flowers