Bringing Down the Colonel
A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the "Powerless" Woman Who Took On Washington
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Bringing Down the Colonel
Buy for $20.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Christina Delaine
-
By:
-
Patricia Miller
About this listen
“I’ll take my share of the blame. I only ask that he take his.”
In Bringing Down the Colonel, journalist Patricia Miller tells the story of Madeline Pollard, an unlikely 19th-century women’s rights crusader. After an affair with a prominent politician left her “ruined”, Pollard brought the man - and the hypocrisy of America’s control of women’s sexuality - to trial. And, surprisingly, she won.
Pollard and the married Colonel Breckinridge began their decade-long affair when she was just a teenager. After the death of his wife, Breckinridge asked for Pollard’s hand - and then broke off the engagement to marry another woman. But Pollard struck back, suing Breckinridge for breach of promise in a shockingly public trial. With premarital sex considered irredeemably ruinous for a woman, Pollard was asserting the unthinkable: that the sexual morality of men and women should be judged equally.
Nearly 125 years after the Breckinridge-Pollard scandal, America is still obsessed with women’s sexual morality. And in the age of Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein, we’ve witnessed fraught public reckonings with a type of sexual exploitation unnervingly similar to that experienced by Pollard. Using newspaper articles, personal journals, previously unpublished autobiographies, and letters, Bringing Down the Colonel tells the story of one of the earliest women to publicly fight back.
©2018 Patricia Miller (P)2018 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Richest Woman in America
- Hetty Green in the Gilded Age
- By: Janet Wallach
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
No woman in the Gilded Age made as much money as Hetty Green. At the time of her death in 1916, she was worth at least 100 million dollars, equal to more than 2 billion dollars today. A strong believer in women being financially independent, she offered valuable lessons for the present times. Abandoned at birth by her neurotic mother, scorned by her misogynist father, Hetty set out as a child to prove her value. Following the simple rules of her wealthy Quaker father, she successfully invested her money and along the way proved to herself that she was wealthy and therefore worthy.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible Narrator
- By Christina M. Kruse on 06-10-15
By: Janet Wallach
-
The Woman They Could Not Silence
- One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
- By: Kate Moore
- Narrated by: Kate Moore
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,711
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,522
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,515
1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of 21 years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened - by Elizabeth’s intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. So Theophilus makes a plan to put his wife back in her place. One summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Everyone should read this!
- By Lana S on 12-22-21
By: Kate Moore
-
Madame Restell
- The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist
- By: Jennifer Wright
- Narrated by: Mara Wilson
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 65
Madame Restell is a sharp, witty Gilded Age medical history which introduces us to an iconic, yet tragically overlooked, feminist heroine: a glamorous women’s healthcare provider in Manhattan, known to the world as Madame Restell. A celebrity in her day with a flair for high fashion and public, petty beefs, Restell was a self-made woman and single mother who used her wit, her compassion, and her knowledge of family medicine to become one of the most in-demand medical workers in New York.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Every woman should listen to this book!
- By Ruth Aston on 06-18-23
By: Jennifer Wright
-
The Unfit Heiress
- The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt
- By: Audrey Clare Farley
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 91
At the turn of the 20th century, American women began to reject Victorian propriety in favor of passion and livelihood outside the home. This alarmed authorities, who feared certain "over-sexed" women could destroy civilization if allowed to reproduce and pass on their defects. Set against this backdrop, The Unfit Heiress chronicles the fight for inheritance, both genetic and monetary, between Ann Cooper Hewitt and her mother, Maryon.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Such an important story
- By TLH ~ 🎧 ~ on 05-08-21
-
A Fever in the Heartland
- The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Timothy Egan
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,148
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,032
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,031
The Roaring Twenties—the Jazz Age—has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a must read!
- By V. Richmond on 04-14-23
By: Timothy Egan
-
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew
- By: Annejet van der Zijl, Michele Hutchison - translator
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,138
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 943
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 944
Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
American princess
- By ZOE R on 05-12-18
By: Annejet van der Zijl, and others
-
The Richest Woman in America
- Hetty Green in the Gilded Age
- By: Janet Wallach
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
No woman in the Gilded Age made as much money as Hetty Green. At the time of her death in 1916, she was worth at least 100 million dollars, equal to more than 2 billion dollars today. A strong believer in women being financially independent, she offered valuable lessons for the present times. Abandoned at birth by her neurotic mother, scorned by her misogynist father, Hetty set out as a child to prove her value. Following the simple rules of her wealthy Quaker father, she successfully invested her money and along the way proved to herself that she was wealthy and therefore worthy.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible Narrator
- By Christina M. Kruse on 06-10-15
By: Janet Wallach
-
The Woman They Could Not Silence
- One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
- By: Kate Moore
- Narrated by: Kate Moore
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,711
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,522
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,515
1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of 21 years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened - by Elizabeth’s intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. So Theophilus makes a plan to put his wife back in her place. One summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Everyone should read this!
- By Lana S on 12-22-21
By: Kate Moore
-
Madame Restell
- The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist
- By: Jennifer Wright
- Narrated by: Mara Wilson
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 65
Madame Restell is a sharp, witty Gilded Age medical history which introduces us to an iconic, yet tragically overlooked, feminist heroine: a glamorous women’s healthcare provider in Manhattan, known to the world as Madame Restell. A celebrity in her day with a flair for high fashion and public, petty beefs, Restell was a self-made woman and single mother who used her wit, her compassion, and her knowledge of family medicine to become one of the most in-demand medical workers in New York.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Every woman should listen to this book!
- By Ruth Aston on 06-18-23
By: Jennifer Wright
-
The Unfit Heiress
- The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt
- By: Audrey Clare Farley
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 91
At the turn of the 20th century, American women began to reject Victorian propriety in favor of passion and livelihood outside the home. This alarmed authorities, who feared certain "over-sexed" women could destroy civilization if allowed to reproduce and pass on their defects. Set against this backdrop, The Unfit Heiress chronicles the fight for inheritance, both genetic and monetary, between Ann Cooper Hewitt and her mother, Maryon.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Such an important story
- By TLH ~ 🎧 ~ on 05-08-21
-
A Fever in the Heartland
- The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Timothy Egan
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,148
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,032
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,031
The Roaring Twenties—the Jazz Age—has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a must read!
- By V. Richmond on 04-14-23
By: Timothy Egan
-
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew
- By: Annejet van der Zijl, Michele Hutchison - translator
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,138
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 943
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 944
Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
American princess
- By ZOE R on 05-12-18
By: Annejet van der Zijl, and others
-
Curse of Riches
- By: Claire Prentice
- Narrated by: Claire Prentice, Hillary Huber
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 228
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 192
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 192
How did the Wendels, one of New York’s most famous Gilded Age families, disappear from history? The Wendels built a fortune from New York real estate, and rubbed shoulders with the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Stuyvesants. But as the 19th century came to an end, the Wendel family tore itself apart. Following six years of painstaking archival research, Claire Prentice has prised open the door of the Wendels’ Fifth Avenue mansion—dubbed “the house of mystery” by the press—to reveal a fascinating and dysfunctional family imprisoned in a gilded cage.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Kept Waiting for it to be Interesting
- By Mary on 06-23-23
By: Claire Prentice
-
Nowhere Girl
- A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood
- By: Cheryl Diamond
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 596
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 498
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 498
By the time she was in her teens, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies, but as she grew older, love and trust turned to fear and violence, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con, and the people she loved, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed, all that was left was a girl from nowhere.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
As Diamond said in an interview, “It is a horrific story at times, but also absolutely magical.”
- By Teela Klekotka on 02-11-23
By: Cheryl Diamond
-
Rogues
- True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks
- By: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 796
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 672
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 670
From the prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing—and one of the most decorated journalists of our time—twelve enthralling stories of skulduggery and intrigue.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Too political
- By Xi Chen on 07-11-22
-
The Last Castle
- The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Denise Kiernan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 988
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 880
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 876
Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York's best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House. Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Very factual
- By Jennifer on 11-28-17
By: Denise Kiernan
-
Citizens of London
- The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,589
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,198
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,206
Here is the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, Averell Harriman, and John Gilbert Winant. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and a reluctant American public to support the British at a critical time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
If we are together nothing is impossible
- By Susan on 03-06-10
By: Lynne Olson
-
The Sewing Girl's Tale
- A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America
- By: John Wood Sweet
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
On a moonless night in the summer of 1793 a crime was committed in the back room of a New York brothel—the kind of crime that even victims usually kept secret. Instead, seventeen-year-old seamstress Lanah Sawyer did what virtually no one in US history had done before: she charged a gentleman with rape. Her accusation sparked a raw courtroom drama and a relentless struggle for vindication that threatened both Lanah’s and her assailant’s lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great for history buffs!
- By LibertyHillbilly on 02-09-23
By: John Wood Sweet
-
The Barbizon
- The Hotel that Set Women Free
- By: Paulina Bren
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 398
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 340
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 337
Welcome to New York’s legendary hotel for women, the Barbizon. Liberated after WWI from home and hearth, women flocked to New York City during the Roaring Twenties. But even as women’s residential hotels became the fashion, the Barbizon stood out; it was designed for young women with artistic aspirations, and included soaring art studios and soundproofed practice rooms. More importantly still, with no men allowed beyond the lobby, the Barbizon signaled respectability, a place where a young woman of a certain class could feel at home.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Very Enjoyable Non Fiction, Mostly Easy Listening
- By Frank Donnelly on 03-23-21
By: Paulina Bren
-
Titan
- The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 35 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,976
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,897
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,871
Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
He makes Bill Gates look like a Pauper!
- By Rick on 11-04-13
By: Ron Chernow
-
The Bully Pulpit
- Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 36 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,335
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,896
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,888
Goodwin describes the broken friendship between Teddy Roosevelt and his chosen successor, William Howard Taft. With the help of the "muckraking" press, Roosevelt had wielded the Bully Pulpit to challenge and triumph over abusive monopolies, political bosses, and corrupting money brokers. Roosevelt led a revolution that he bequeathed to Taft only to see it compromised as Taft surrendered to money men and big business. The rupture led Roosevelt to run against Taft for president, an ultimately futile race that gave power away to the Democrats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Makes You Forget You Live in the 21st Century Good
- By Cynthia on 01-11-14
-
A Secret Life
- The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland
- By: Charles Lachman
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
The child was born on September 14, 1874, at the only hospital in Buffalo, New York, that offered maternity services for unwed mothers. It was a boy, and though he entered the world in a state of illegitimacy, a distinguished name was given to this newborn: Oscar Folsom Cleveland. The son of the future president of the United States - Grover Cleveland. The story of how the man who held the nation’s highest office eventually came to take responsibility for his son is a thrilling one that unfolds like a sordid romance novel....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Are the charges true?
- By Jean on 02-16-13
By: Charles Lachman
-
Votes for Women!
- American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot
- By: Winifred Conkling
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 30
On August 18, 1920, American women finally won the right to vote. Ratification of the 19th Amendment was the culmination of an almost 80-year fight in which some of the fiercest, most passionate women in history marched, protested, and sometimes broke the law in to achieve this huge leap toward equal rights. In this expansive yet personal volume, author Winifred Conkling covers not only the suffragists' achievements and politics but also the private journeys that fueled their passion and led them to become women's champions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank you, ladies!
- By Stephanie Epps on 04-26-20
-
Eliza Hamilton
- The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton
- By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 353
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 319
Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton - Alexander Hamilton’s devoted wife - in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don’t know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and, in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides - and this fascinating biography brings her multifaceted personality to vivid life.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Eliza Deserves Better
- By jmn89 on 12-20-19
By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
Related to this topic
-
A Secret Life
- The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland
- By: Charles Lachman
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
The child was born on September 14, 1874, at the only hospital in Buffalo, New York, that offered maternity services for unwed mothers. It was a boy, and though he entered the world in a state of illegitimacy, a distinguished name was given to this newborn: Oscar Folsom Cleveland. The son of the future president of the United States - Grover Cleveland. The story of how the man who held the nation’s highest office eventually came to take responsibility for his son is a thrilling one that unfolds like a sordid romance novel....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Are the charges true?
- By Jean on 02-16-13
By: Charles Lachman
-
Passing Strange
- A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line
- By: Martha A. Sandweiss
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
Brilliant scientist and witty conversationalist, best-selling author and architect of the great surveys that mapped the West after the Civil War, Clarence King was named by John Hay "the best and brightest of his generation". But King hid a secret from his Gilded Age cohorts and prominent family in Newport: for 13 years he lived a double life - as the celebrated White explorer, geologist, and writer Clarence King and as a Black Pullman porter and steelworker named James Todd.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Race and Identity
- By Roy on 03-22-10
-
Eleanor Roosevelt
- Volume I, 1884-1933
- By: Blanche Wiesen Cook
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 22 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 211
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 186
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 187
Eleanor Roosevelt was born into the privileges and prejudices of American aristocracy and into a family ravaged by alcoholism. She overcame debilitating roots: in her public life, fighting against racism and injustice and advancing the rights of women; and in her private life, forming lasting intimate friendships with some of the great men and women of her time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One of the Great Americans I knew too little about
- By Ray M on 07-19-20
-
Votes for Women!
- American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot
- By: Winifred Conkling
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 30
On August 18, 1920, American women finally won the right to vote. Ratification of the 19th Amendment was the culmination of an almost 80-year fight in which some of the fiercest, most passionate women in history marched, protested, and sometimes broke the law in to achieve this huge leap toward equal rights. In this expansive yet personal volume, author Winifred Conkling covers not only the suffragists' achievements and politics but also the private journeys that fueled their passion and led them to become women's champions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank you, ladies!
- By Stephanie Epps on 04-26-20
-
The Sewing Girl's Tale
- A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America
- By: John Wood Sweet
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
On a moonless night in the summer of 1793 a crime was committed in the back room of a New York brothel—the kind of crime that even victims usually kept secret. Instead, seventeen-year-old seamstress Lanah Sawyer did what virtually no one in US history had done before: she charged a gentleman with rape. Her accusation sparked a raw courtroom drama and a relentless struggle for vindication that threatened both Lanah’s and her assailant’s lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great for history buffs!
- By LibertyHillbilly on 02-09-23
By: John Wood Sweet
-
American Scoundrel
- The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles
- By: Tom Kenneally
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
On the last, cold Sunday of February 1859, Daniel Sickles shot his wife's lover in Washington's Lafayette Square, just across from the White House. This is the story of that killing and its repercussions. Thomas Keneally brilliantly recreates an extraordinary period, when women were punished for violating codes of society that did not bind men. And the caddish, good-looking Dan Sickles personifies the extremes of the era.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting Good Listen
- By Kindle Customer on 01-10-24
By: Tom Kenneally
-
A Secret Life
- The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland
- By: Charles Lachman
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
The child was born on September 14, 1874, at the only hospital in Buffalo, New York, that offered maternity services for unwed mothers. It was a boy, and though he entered the world in a state of illegitimacy, a distinguished name was given to this newborn: Oscar Folsom Cleveland. The son of the future president of the United States - Grover Cleveland. The story of how the man who held the nation’s highest office eventually came to take responsibility for his son is a thrilling one that unfolds like a sordid romance novel....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Are the charges true?
- By Jean on 02-16-13
By: Charles Lachman
-
Passing Strange
- A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line
- By: Martha A. Sandweiss
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
Brilliant scientist and witty conversationalist, best-selling author and architect of the great surveys that mapped the West after the Civil War, Clarence King was named by John Hay "the best and brightest of his generation". But King hid a secret from his Gilded Age cohorts and prominent family in Newport: for 13 years he lived a double life - as the celebrated White explorer, geologist, and writer Clarence King and as a Black Pullman porter and steelworker named James Todd.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Race and Identity
- By Roy on 03-22-10
-
Eleanor Roosevelt
- Volume I, 1884-1933
- By: Blanche Wiesen Cook
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 22 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 211
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 186
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 187
Eleanor Roosevelt was born into the privileges and prejudices of American aristocracy and into a family ravaged by alcoholism. She overcame debilitating roots: in her public life, fighting against racism and injustice and advancing the rights of women; and in her private life, forming lasting intimate friendships with some of the great men and women of her time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One of the Great Americans I knew too little about
- By Ray M on 07-19-20
-
Votes for Women!
- American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot
- By: Winifred Conkling
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 30
On August 18, 1920, American women finally won the right to vote. Ratification of the 19th Amendment was the culmination of an almost 80-year fight in which some of the fiercest, most passionate women in history marched, protested, and sometimes broke the law in to achieve this huge leap toward equal rights. In this expansive yet personal volume, author Winifred Conkling covers not only the suffragists' achievements and politics but also the private journeys that fueled their passion and led them to become women's champions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank you, ladies!
- By Stephanie Epps on 04-26-20
-
The Sewing Girl's Tale
- A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America
- By: John Wood Sweet
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
On a moonless night in the summer of 1793 a crime was committed in the back room of a New York brothel—the kind of crime that even victims usually kept secret. Instead, seventeen-year-old seamstress Lanah Sawyer did what virtually no one in US history had done before: she charged a gentleman with rape. Her accusation sparked a raw courtroom drama and a relentless struggle for vindication that threatened both Lanah’s and her assailant’s lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great for history buffs!
- By LibertyHillbilly on 02-09-23
By: John Wood Sweet
-
American Scoundrel
- The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles
- By: Tom Kenneally
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
On the last, cold Sunday of February 1859, Daniel Sickles shot his wife's lover in Washington's Lafayette Square, just across from the White House. This is the story of that killing and its repercussions. Thomas Keneally brilliantly recreates an extraordinary period, when women were punished for violating codes of society that did not bind men. And the caddish, good-looking Dan Sickles personifies the extremes of the era.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting Good Listen
- By Kindle Customer on 01-10-24
By: Tom Kenneally
-
Ladies of Liberty
- The Women Who Shaped Our Nation
- By: Cokie Roberts
- Narrated by: Cokie Roberts
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 187
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
Roberts presents a colorful blend of biographical portraits and behind-the-scenes vignettes chronicling women's public roles and private responsibilities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Ladies of Liberty
- By Sesenta-tres on 05-08-08
By: Cokie Roberts
-
The Woman Behind the New Deal
- The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
- By: Kirstin Downey
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 176
Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Based on extensive archival materials, new documents, and exclusive access to Perkins' family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life, a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Absorbing Biography
- By Jean on 08-16-17
By: Kirstin Downey
-
Lady Bird
- A Biography of Mrs. Johnson
- By: Jan Jarboe Russell
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
A revealing biography of Lady Bird Johnson with startling new insights into her marriage to Lyndon Baines Johnson and her unexpectedly strong impact on his presidency. Long obscured by her husband's shadow, Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson emerges in this first comprehensive biography as a figure of surprising influence and the centering force for LBJ, a man who suffered from extreme mood swings and desperately needed someone to help control his darker impulses.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Do not waste an audible credit
- By Sandra B. on 10-15-23
-
First
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 479
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 428
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 426
She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings - doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Remarkable woman, well served in this book.
- By KathrynVB on 04-05-19
By: Evan Thomas
-
Franklin and Lucy
- President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life
- By: Joseph E. Persico
- Narrated by: Ted Barker
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the greatest figure of the 20th century. While FDR's official circle was predominantly male, it was his relationships with women - particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd - that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Franklin and Lucy
- By Connie's on 03-06-09
-
Lady Bird and Lyndon
- The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President
- By: Betty Boyd Caroli
- Narrated by: Amanda Carlin
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
A fresh look at Lady Bird Johnson that upends her image as a plain Jane who was married for her money and mistreated by Lyndon. This Lady Bird worked quietly behind the scenes through every campaign, every illness, and a trying presidency as a key strategist, fundraiser, barnstormer, peacemaker, and indispensable therapist.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Lady Bird & btw Lyndon
- By Richard on 11-27-15
-
Guest of Honor
- Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner that Shocked a Nation
- By: Deborah Davis
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to have dinner at the executive mansion with the First Family. The next morning, news that the president had dined with a Black man-and former slave-sent shock waves through the nation. Although African Americans had helped build the White House and had worked for most of the presidents, not a single one had ever been invited to dine there. Fueled by inflammatory newspaper articles, political cartoons, and even vulgar songs, the scandal escalated.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great So
- By Maureen Monahan on 04-11-21
By: Deborah Davis
-
The Bully Pulpit
- Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 36 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,335
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,896
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,888
Goodwin describes the broken friendship between Teddy Roosevelt and his chosen successor, William Howard Taft. With the help of the "muckraking" press, Roosevelt had wielded the Bully Pulpit to challenge and triumph over abusive monopolies, political bosses, and corrupting money brokers. Roosevelt led a revolution that he bequeathed to Taft only to see it compromised as Taft surrendered to money men and big business. The rupture led Roosevelt to run against Taft for president, an ultimately futile race that gave power away to the Democrats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Makes You Forget You Live in the 21st Century Good
- By Cynthia on 01-11-14
-
The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers
- By: Thomas Fleming
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
With his usual storytelling flair and unparalleled research, Tom Fleming offers a compelling, intimate look at the founders—George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison—and the women who played essential roles in their lives.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting, but unbalanced, angle
- By Devon on 07-03-14
By: Thomas Fleming
-
Louisa
- The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams
- By: Louisa Thomas
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 85
Born in London to an American father and a British mother on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Louisa Catherine Johnson was raised in circumstances very different from the New England upbringing of future president John Quincy Adams, whose life had been dedicated to public service from the earliest age. And yet John Quincy fell in love with her almost despite himself. Their often tempestuous but deeply close marriage lasted half a century.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Insightful
- By Jean on 05-18-16
By: Louisa Thomas
-
Ida M. Tarbell
- The Woman Who Challenged Big Business - and Won!
- By: Emily Arnold McCully
- Narrated by: Emily Arnold McCully
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Born in 1857 and raised in oil country, Ida M. Tarbell was one of the first investigative journalists and probably the most influential in her time. Her series of articles on the Standard Oil Trust, a complicated business empire run by John D. Rockefeller, revealed to readers the underhanded, even illegal practices that had led to Rockefeller's success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent!
- By AKA1 on 03-16-19
-
Eliza Hamilton
- The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton
- By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 353
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 319
Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton - Alexander Hamilton’s devoted wife - in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don’t know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and, in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides - and this fascinating biography brings her multifaceted personality to vivid life.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Eliza Deserves Better
- By jmn89 on 12-20-19
By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
What listeners say about Bringing Down the Colonel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Larry Haskell
- 01-23-21
Fascinating history
This book provides a bridge explaining the evolution of gender politics from the mid 29th century to today. I’m old enough to recall the 1950s and can see how this led to where we are today. Great read . I really enjoyed the narrators imitation of the accents and tone of the time. Very well done.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Living Downeast
- 09-29-19
Stay with it. It is amazing.
Book begins a little slowly, sounding rather like a dissertation.
But stay with it. It is absolutely fascinating and recounts a very important era in our country’s history. You may not recognize the name Madeline Pollard but you will recognize many of the other women named in this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lisa A. Stansbury
- 12-14-19
Great DC and Women's History book
carefully researched, the story is amazing and timely. It was our community book club selection.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Captain
- 08-26-19
Women in America before 1900
What a story. The history of times that are hard to see as part of the making of America in the 19th century.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful