Review by Carin Turk -- Naked Truth by Carrie Hayes
Posted: 16 Dec 2020, 00:55
[Following is a volunteer review of "Naked Truth" by Carrie Hayes.]
Naked Truth, Or Equality, The Forbidden Fruit by Carrie Hayes tells the not so widely known story of Tennessee (Tennie) Claflin and her sister Victoria Woodhull. Two women who overcome inequity and chauvinism to open the first woman-owned brokerage firm on Wall Street. They rise in wealth and prominence after Tennie manipulates her way into the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt under the guise of healing his pain. His monetary assistance and investment advice make the sisters rich and enable them to be able to open up the brokerage firm. Victoria becomes heavily involved in politics - first with the suffrage movement and eventually a presidential run. Scandal follows them through each venture. They eventually land in jail for slander when they insult a highly respected figure. The book ends with the sisters sailing to England after being paid off by Vanderbilt's son.
I had a difficult time getting into this book. The book follows a timeline broken down by month from 1868 to 1877. It was very choppy as it simply described the actions of the sisters from month to month with little or no transition between. I found myself consistently looking back to check the dates because it felt as though the story jumped around so much.
I also had a difficult time getting to know the characters. It was not until about two thirds of the way through the book that I really started to connect with both Tennie and Victoria. Along the way, there were so many big names dropped that it reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump in how he always managed to interact with famous people.
Despite my initial difficulties, I did enjoy the story. I found it fascinating how these women used their "spiritual" gifts to their advantage during a time when women were looked upon as mere property. Their salacious actions with both the men and women they interacted with was intriguing. Victoria used every angle she could to advance her personal and political stature. Reading the book definitely made me want to learn more about both these women and how their story impacted a woman's role in the male dominated financial and political world.
I give this book a rating of 3 stars out of 4 because of the interesting story and the fact that it left me with a desire to read more about these strong rebellious women whom I had never heard of. I would recommend this book to those interested in the early days of the women's suffrage movement.
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Naked Truth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Naked Truth, Or Equality, The Forbidden Fruit by Carrie Hayes tells the not so widely known story of Tennessee (Tennie) Claflin and her sister Victoria Woodhull. Two women who overcome inequity and chauvinism to open the first woman-owned brokerage firm on Wall Street. They rise in wealth and prominence after Tennie manipulates her way into the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt under the guise of healing his pain. His monetary assistance and investment advice make the sisters rich and enable them to be able to open up the brokerage firm. Victoria becomes heavily involved in politics - first with the suffrage movement and eventually a presidential run. Scandal follows them through each venture. They eventually land in jail for slander when they insult a highly respected figure. The book ends with the sisters sailing to England after being paid off by Vanderbilt's son.
I had a difficult time getting into this book. The book follows a timeline broken down by month from 1868 to 1877. It was very choppy as it simply described the actions of the sisters from month to month with little or no transition between. I found myself consistently looking back to check the dates because it felt as though the story jumped around so much.
I also had a difficult time getting to know the characters. It was not until about two thirds of the way through the book that I really started to connect with both Tennie and Victoria. Along the way, there were so many big names dropped that it reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump in how he always managed to interact with famous people.
Despite my initial difficulties, I did enjoy the story. I found it fascinating how these women used their "spiritual" gifts to their advantage during a time when women were looked upon as mere property. Their salacious actions with both the men and women they interacted with was intriguing. Victoria used every angle she could to advance her personal and political stature. Reading the book definitely made me want to learn more about both these women and how their story impacted a woman's role in the male dominated financial and political world.
I give this book a rating of 3 stars out of 4 because of the interesting story and the fact that it left me with a desire to read more about these strong rebellious women whom I had never heard of. I would recommend this book to those interested in the early days of the women's suffrage movement.
******
Naked Truth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon