October 25, 2016

Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evelina - Review

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: July 24, 2016
Number of pages: 400
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:
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 21st 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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My thoughts:
What a more fitting time then now to read this book. Most people think that our current female candidate if the first woman to have her name on the ballet for president. This is not true. Victoria Woodhull was the first female to have her name on the presidental ballet. Just one of those things that our history books like to forget. Me being a history buff and having her just a little about Victoria jumped at the chance to read this book and find out more about this strong woman. She had to be strong to overcome her childhood, a bad marriage and then to run for the leader of our country at a time when women were not even allowed to vote let alone have their voices her in the political world. I thought the author did a good job of capturing the time and place of this story. She also made Victoria come alive off the pages. Victoria was such an interesting woman and this author did a good job of showing that and of making you want to know even more. I think this is a book that should be read by all to learn a piece of our forgotten history. This is a book I will be sharing and talking about for awhile. 

About the author:
Nicole Evelina is an award-winning historical fiction and romantic comedy writer. Her most recent novel, Madame Presidentess, a historical novel about Victoria Woodhull, America’s first female Presidential candidate, was the first place winner in the Women’s US History category of the 2015 Chaucer Awards for Historical Fiction.

Her debut novel, Daughter of Destiny, the first book of an Arthurian legend trilogy that tells Guinevere’s life story from her point of view, was named Book of the Yearby Chanticleer Reviews, took the Grand Prize in the 2015 Chatelaine Awards for Women’s Fiction/Romance, won a Gold Medal in the fantasy category in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and was short-listed for the Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction. Been Searching for You, her contemporary romantic comedy, won the 2015 Romance Writers of America (RWA) Great Expectations and Golden Rose contests.


TOUR STOPS:

Monday, October 24th: Kahakai Kitchen
Tuesday, October 25th: A. Holland Reads
Wednesday, October 26th: The Baking Bookworm
Thursday, October 27th: Doing Dewey
Friday, October 28th: Kritter’s Ramblings
Monday, October 31st: Building Bookshelves
Wednesday, November 2nd: Broken Teepee
Thursday, November 3rd: A Chick Who Reads
Friday, November 4th: Write Read Life
Monday, November 7th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Tuesday, November 8th: Hoser’s Blook
Wednesday, November 9th: Bibliotica
Thursday, November 10th: Back Porchervations
Friday, November 11th: Wordsmithonia
Monday, November 14th: Books ‘n Tea

2 comments:

  1. I am so honored that you liked the book! Thank you for being part of my blog tour!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This certainly does seem like the perfect time to read a book like this!

    Thanks for being a part of the tour.

    ReplyDelete