The Scarlet Sisters

Myra MacPherson's "The Scarlet Sisters" resurrects the remarkable story of Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin, two audacious Victorian-era women who shattered every convention of their time. Woodhull became the first woman to run for president in 1872, while her younger sister Tennessee charmed her way into becoming one of the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street. Together, they operated a brokerage firm, published a radical newspaper advocating for women's suffrage and free love, and scandalized New York society with their unconventional lifestyle. MacPherson, a veteran journalist, excavates these sisters from historical obscurity with meticulous research and a novelist's eye for compelling detail. What distinguishes this biography is its unflinching portrayal of the sisters' contradictions—their genuine pioneering spirit coexisted with a talent for self-promotion and financial schemes that occasionally bordered on fraud. The book succeeds in capturing how these complex, flawed women wielded sexuality and spectacle as tools for advancing women's rights, decades before suffrage became respectable. MacPherson reveals how their legacy influenced later feminists while acknowledging the messy realities behind their mythmaking.

Myra MacPherson's "The Scarlet Sisters" chronicles Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin, pioneering 19th-century feminists who broke countless barriers. Readers praise the fascinating subject matter while noting some structural challenges in the storytelling. Liked: - Reveals forgotten history of remarkable women who were 150 years ahead of their time - Captures the Gilded Age brilliantly, weaving social history around the sisters' lives - MacPherson focuses on documented facts rather than conjecture and hearsay - Shows how these "firecrackers" conquered Wall Street and fought social hypocrisy Disliked: - Writing style reads more like facts and dates than compelling narrative - Too many characters and events make the story feel unfocused at times - Some sections drag on too long despite the interesting subject matter The consensus suggests this important historical work succeeds in illuminating two extraordinary women despite occasional pacing issues that prevent it from reaching its full potential as gripping biography.

• MacPherson spent over a decade researching the Claflin sisters, unearthing previously unknown correspondence between Victoria Woodhull and suffrage leaders. • The book reveals how Tennessee Claflin became the first woman to address the House Judiciary Committee, a fact overlooked by most historians. • Published in 2014 by Twelve Books, it coincided with renewed interest in women's financial history following the 2008 economic crisis. • MacPherson discovered that Victoria Woodhull's 1872 presidential campaign inspired Susan B. Anthony's arrest for attempting to vote that same year.