The Reading Warehouse

A woman is running for US President Socialism is gaining ground in America, and a campaign is underway to redefine marriage, causing a culture war between Christian leaders and feminists. The year is 1872, and Victoria Woodhull is leading the radical faction of the women's rights movement along with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. On the other end of the women's rights spectrum, more philosophically aligned with Lucy Stone and Mary Livermore, a movement that would put women into the pulpit worldwide is being launched by Mary Baker Eddy, who staunchly defends the Christian view of the sanctity of marriage. In the decade after the American Civil War, reformers wanted to fulfill the promise of the American Revolution by giving both blacks and women the right to vote. Legal changes needed for woman suffrage seemed to shake the foundation of the male-female relationship. Disagreement over the implications of women's rights for sexuality triggered a political, legal, and religious battle for the soul of marriage. Crossing Swords explores the contentious free-love movement through the love lives, careers, and public statements of Mary Baker Eddy and Victoria Claflin Woodhull, who came from completely different backgrounds and had polar opposite views on marriage and sexuality. This thought-provoking story is a surprisingly relevant prequel to the similarly divisive social issues of our own era.