The Renegade Queen

Book excerpt: Once the most famous woman in America, Victoria Woodhull was so controversial that not only was she the first Presidential candidate jailed on Election Day, she was erased from history.During an abusive childhood, Victoria, along with her sister Tennessee, are a clairvoyant side show, travelling from town to town bringing messages from the dead and promising to cure all men's ills. At 14, Victoria escapes her cruel father the only way she could, by marriage.In marriage, Victoria discovers a new kind of hell. Her husband, a whoremongering morphine addict is more of a burden than a help as they raise their two children, a healthy girl and a mentally disabled boy. Vowing to her children that she will make a new world where women have more choices, Victoria spends years studying the movements of reformer Susan B. Anthony. When the handsome Civil War hero, James Blood, enters her life, Victoria finds the partner and support she needs to undertake her radical plan.Along with her loose and scandalous sister, Tennessee, Victoria manipulates robber baron Commodore Vanderbilt and together they cause the panic of Black Friday in 1869. Victoria then parlays her fortune into the first female-owned brokerage firm. When her hero Susan B. Anthony pays a visit to her and subsequently publishes unkind words about Victoria's past, Victoria responds by engaging in a fierce rivalry with Susan to become the dominate voice in the women's movement. Victoria starts her own newspaper, testifies to Congress, and even announces her candidacy for President. But when Victoria speaks against marital rape, and the right to divorce, her radical ideas ignite a new battle with Reverend Henry Beecher, which leads to trials, persecution, and ultimately forces her to choose between her country and the love of her life.