Terrible Siren: Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927)

As Publishers Weekly noted, 'No heroine of any romance ever had a more adventurous career than this unvictorian Victoria.'In Victoria Woodhull's prime during the mid to late 1800s, women were not allowed to vote, were not encouraged to run a business, and certainly did not speak of free love, much less get divorced. Women endured other ridiculous conventions, like not being seen outside a home after dark without an escort. Restaurants refused to serve single women after 6pm.Victoria Woodhull smashed all these conventions and many more. She married for the first time while only 15 years old. She was married at least 3 times, with 2 divorces.Victoria held seances for Cornelius Vanderbilt to give him tips. With his mentorship, she, along with Tennessee, her equally beautiful sister, opened their own stock brokerage firm and were the first female brokers on Wall Street. One reviewer said it was a time 'when a woman in business was as great a novelty as an elephant in a balloon.'The sisters ran a weekly newspaper in New York that ardently advocated for free love. Anthony Comstock sent them to jail for the contents of that paper.Victoria was a skillful orator who pushed for women's equality, especially suffrage. One reviewer stated, 'Audiences came to denounce her and stayed to acclaim her.'She was the first woman to be nominated for President of the United States by a political party. She ran in 3 different elections.She was the first woman to receive an official hearing before a congressional committee, when she presented a memorial about woman suffrage.Victoria unapologetically sought the spotlight and practiced what she preached despite notoriety and persecution.