A Very Dangerous Woman: Martha Wright and Women's Rights Book

Though I am not typically a history buff, per se, I am a Christian and I enjoy learning more about past events that reflect on the political and social injustices, both human and animal related, and how we were able to surpass and/or overcome those. I chose to review this particular book because for one, I recognized the name – Martha Wright – however, I had no recollection that she had been directly involved with the women’s rights movements or abolishing slavery.

The authors (a husband and wife team) have brilliantly weaved Martha’s story in with not only the history behind this woman and her role in it, but have added photographs and references to where the information can be found. It was a unique and fascinating way to lure in even the average reader, such as I, who normally would not veer into the historical lessons. In summary, it is written as a story about the life of Martha Wright and her involvement in not only the women’s rights movements, but also how she became a part of the few brave and often unknowns who assisted the slaves in reaching freedom from a cruel society who believed “owning” a person was proper.

The photographs entwined between the chapters only lend an even deeper understanding because you could actually see the person involved. And the inclusions of references on record nicely polished off the invaluable lesson learned from reading about this family’s history.

Another reason I was drawn to read this book was the fact that one of the authors, Mr. Livingston, is a descendant of Martha Wright. Learning about one’s genealogical flow in history has always been a fascination of mine and I was impressed with learning more about the family and their role in history.

Martha was actually not very well known for her part in all of this critical participation. I have a feeling that at the time, she didn’t really mind her role in the shadows as it actually wound up being to her advantage and she was able to do more than even she thought she was capable of accomplishing, given the restraints of that era in time.

A fascinating read and one I highly recommend. I also believe this particular book should play an important role in schooling the children of our political future. Well done!