Crossing Swords: Mary Baker Eddy vs. Victoria Claflin Woodhull and the Battle for the Soul of Marriage

Product Description

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. It is 1872, and Victoria Woodhull is leading the radical faction of the women’s rights movement with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. On the other end of the 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 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.

Review

CROSSING SWORDS gives the reader insights into the lives of two important 19th century American women who were ahead of their time. … Those who enjoy reading books on 19th century American history, modern religious movements, or women’s studies will really enjoy reading this book.
-LISA COVINGTON, Manhattan Book Review

How the opposing philosophies, the puritanical background of Mary and the unconcerned outlook of Victoria, played together in molding the American view of women in society comes alive in these pages. … the vision of enlightened womanhood as it existed then is presented here, in clear and concise terms, with special attention in giving equal due to the almost opposing views of both the pioneers.
-ROY T. JAMES, Readers’ Favorite

To say that Safronoff has done her homework is an understatement; the book is extremely well researched and documented… Crossing Swords has broad-spectrum appeal because Cindy Peyser Safronoff writes intelligently without being overly academic; however, scholars will find much to ponder and appreciate. Anyone interested in the suffragist andwomen’s rights movements will enjoy the historical element, but the personal lives of Eddy and Woodhull are what make this book most enjoyable, thought provoking, and illuminating.
-KRISTINE HALL, Reader Views

CROSSING SWORDS tells the intertwined tales of Victoria Woodhull and Mary Baker Eddy two fearless American iconoclasts whose work on sex, love, and women s rights changed the course of American culture. Cindy Peyser Safronoff does a great job of bringing these fascinating women back to life in all of their brilliance and eccentricity for a new generation of readers.
-DEBBY APPLEGATE, Pulitzer Prize winner for The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
CROSSING SWORDS is a fascinating look at two Victorian woman leaders in the female cultural war of their day. Mary Baker Eddy, the famed founder of Christian Science, battled Free Love while flamboyant Victoria Woodhull championed it. Safronoff deserves our praise for a well-crafted biography about two riveting opposites, who both fought fiercely for their avante garde rights, no matter how far apart, and never gave up. -MYRA MACPHERSON, author of The Scarlet Sisters: Sex, Suffrage, and Scandal in the Gilded Age
CROSSING SWORDS is a fascinating analysis of very modern-day theme: marriage vs. free-love and the role of women in society. Ms. Safronoff has unearthed a gem of a story that still resonates today! -SUZANNE VENKER, author of The Two-Income Trap: Why Parents are Ch