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100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

I absolutely love historical fiction and read a lot of it; I love to learn history this way.  I also enjoy reading science fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller and non-fiction science.

Madame Presidentess

Madame Presidentess - Nicole Evelina

Victoria Woodhull was a woman far ahead of her time.  From the time of her birth, she was named for greatness; and though she would never be queen, Victoria will reach for the Presidency before women even have the right to vote.  Raised by quite a controversial family, her father a swindler and her mother a staunch Spiritualist, Victoria and her sister Tennessee are set up as mediums and healers as children.  However, Victoria’s spirit guide shows her going far in life and her experience with all types of people helps her through.  Victoria is helped out of her messy childhood first by Dr. Canning Woodhull, who turns out to be no better than her father,  but then Victoria meets Colonel James Blood, a civil war hero who helps her with her cause.  Victoria and Tennessee are swept up into the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and then become the first women of Wall Street with the help of Commodore Vanderbilt, start their own newspaper and eventually Victoria runs in the 1872 election.
 
Since I have learned of Victoria Woodhull, I have become slightly obsessed with her life.  In Madame Presidentess there is a very good mix of Victoria’s supernatural predilections along with events that truly happened in her life.  The Spiritualist side of Victoria’s life fascinates me, especially since it seemed to help her achieve everything that she dreamed for herself.  I loved reading about her and Tennie’s time spent with Vanderbilt and how he came to know the sisters.  I also enjoyed Victoria’s meeting with other historical figures that I know of such as Walt Whitman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and President Grant.   Through Victoria’s eyes, some of these figures are seen in a very different light than what history has shown.  Another aspect of Madame Presidentess that I enjoyed was the focus on the political dealings that Victoria had to go through in order to run.  It was interesting to see everything that Victoria had to do in order to run.  Once again, I'm glad that I had the opportunity to learn more about Victoria as an important historical figure. I wish she would have appeared in my history textbooks as well, but she has fallen to the wayside as a victim of censorship and impropriety, which is exactly what she fought so hard against.
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.