Giveaway and Book Review: The Renegade Queen
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The Renegade Queen
The Renegade Queen
by Eva Flynn
So controversial she was erased from history. She was the first women to run for President; campaigning before women could vote. So feared by the powerful, she was thrown in jail on Election Day. Her social revolution attracted the outcasts who were left out of the new wealth in New York; the immigrants, the freed slaves, the prostitutes, and the radicals. Who was she? This is the true story of Victoria Woodhull.
I started a woman's studies class this year at the high school where I teach. That semester-long class was packet full this past fall (which surprised my administrator and myself), and the student learned and engaged with the idea of sexism in not only The United States but around the world. This text is one that I would love to have for that class next year if I am able to offer it again.
Until I discovered The Renegade Queen, I knew nothing about Victoria Woodhull. I was a double history and social studies major in college, and I teach a woman's studies class! This is a story that needs to be told, and I am thankful as a teacher and woman for Eva Flynn this novel. The way that Victoria is able to overcome her upbringing to run for president and the way she endures what is said about her, proves that she is a woman of class and inner strength. That makes her a role model for all young women today.
If I were teaching this novel in the classroom, I would use the following writing prompts for student responses to the novel:
1) How did Victoria Woodhull overcome her childhood? How did she approach life and change to become the influential woman that she was? (This is an important topic because many of my students are from difficult homes and background.)
2) How did Victoria Woodhull pave the way for the women that came after her, including those of us in the United States today?
3) How does this text and the woman to woman criticism and hate within it, mirror or relate to the way women treat and behave towards each other today?
Until I discovered The Renegade Queen, I knew nothing about Victoria Woodhull. I was a double history and social studies major in college, and I teach a woman's studies class! This is a story that needs to be told, and I am thankful as a teacher and woman for Eva Flynn this novel. The way that Victoria is able to overcome her upbringing to run for president and the way she endures what is said about her, proves that she is a woman of class and inner strength. That makes her a role model for all young women today.
If I were teaching this novel in the classroom, I would use the following writing prompts for student responses to the novel:
1) How did Victoria Woodhull overcome her childhood? How did she approach life and change to become the influential woman that she was? (This is an important topic because many of my students are from difficult homes and background.)
2) How did Victoria Woodhull pave the way for the women that came after her, including those of us in the United States today?
3) How does this text and the woman to woman criticism and hate within it, mirror or relate to the way women treat and behave towards each other today?
Excerpt
I was born in September, the sixth of ten children (counting the dead ones), and named after Queen Victoria, who was then in the first year of her reign. When folks asked Mama why her camp meeting baby was named after the British monarch, the answer was “Because one day she will be the Queen of England.” When folks pointed out the obvious, namely that we were poor Americans and did not have a drop of British royal blood, Mama replied, “We pride ourselves on never letting minor details interfere with our grand plans.”
About the Author
Eva was raised on bedtime stories of feminists (the tooth fairy even brought Susan B. Anthony dollars) and daytime lessons on American politics. On one fateful day she discovered two paragraphs about Victoria Woodhull in the WXYZ volume of the World Book Encyclopedia. When she realized that neither of her brilliant parents (a political science professor and a feminist) had never heard of her, it was the beginning of a lifelong fascination not only with Victoria Woodhull but in discovering the stories that the history books do not tell.
Eva was born and raised in Tennessee, earned her B.A. in Political Science from DePauw in Greencastle, Indiana and still lives in Indiana. Eva enjoys reading, classic movies, and travelling. She loves to hear from readers, you may reach her at eva@rebellioustimes.com.
Eva Flynn will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner during the tour.
How could you use this text or excerpts from it in your own classroom?
