The Women Who Dared

For centuries, women had no rights in society or in law and no real prospects beyond marriage. Wives endured slave-like positions, yielding any wealth they had to their husbands before becoming imprisoned by the trappings of patriarchal culture. Some, their personalities deemed inconvenient, were consigned to the asylum. Few ever found themselves in the position where they could break free from these manacles and even then surely no one in their right mind would dare to do so, such were the consequences. From Victoria Woodhull, the psychic pariah who ran for the US presidency in 1870 (at a time when she wasn't allowed to vote for herself), to Coco Chanel, the archetypal self-made businesswoman, Deadlier than the Male presents the extraordinary stories of seven women who refused to live by a man's idea of what was morally acceptable. They took charge of their own lives and acted as they pleased. Despite being met with amusement, disdain or outright disgust, they pressed on, flagging a path to liberty. With great verve, wit and reverence, Jeremy Scott pays tribute to them. Deadlier than the Male tells the tales of Victoria Woodhull, Mary Wollstonecraft, Aimee Semple McPherson, Edwina Mountbatten, Margaret Argyll and Coco Chanel.