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EDEN COLLINSWORTH is a writer, essayist, novelist, former media executive, and business consultant. At twenty-eight, she was appointed president and publisher of Arbor House. She left the book business in 1990 to launch the Los Angeles-based lifestyle magazine, BUZZ. In the third decade of her career, she was appointed vice president and director of Cross Media Business Development at the Hearst Corporation. In 2008, Collinsworth became vice president, chief operating officer, and chief-of-staff of The EastWest Institute, an international think tank, and in 2011, she launched Collinsworth & Associates, a Beijing-based consulting company in intercultural communication. She is the author of a novel, It Might Have Been What He Said; of a memoir, I Stand Corrected- How Teaching Manners in China Became Its Own Unforgettable Lesson; and of Behaving Badly- The New Morality in Politics, Sex, and Business, What the Ermine Saw- The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait, and The Improbable Victoria Woodhull- Suffrage, Free Love, and the First Woman to Run for President.
One of The Millions' Great Summer 2025 Books “Eden Collinsworth's improbable, riveting, and wonderfully true tale of this female Horatio Alger—self-reliant huckster and feminist, con artist and capitalist, progressive and marvelous provocateur—is nothing short of the story of America.” —Brenda Wineapple, National Book Critics Circle Finalist and author of Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation “The Improbable Victoria Woodhull takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of 19th-Century America in this rags to riches tale of two beautiful con artists who rose from the backwaters of Ohio to conquer British society. Victoria Woodhull was a truly original American character.” —Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Most Famous Man in American: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher “The Improbable Victoria Woodhull shows how far we have come—and how far there is to go—in pursuit of a fairer and kinder society. Eden Collinsworth’s engaging biography brings Victoria to life in all her glorious contradictions and enthusiasms. She was worth ten of the men around her. Time spent with Victoria is time well spent indeed.” —Amanda Foreman, National Book Critics Circle Award winner and author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire “If anyone believes our Victorian ancestors were staid or undersexed, Eden Collinsworth’s lively biography of Victoria Woodhull should set them straight. From seances and spiritualism to calling out the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher for his backroom forays into free love, Woodhull exemplifies an era where American women began their march to personal freedom and political and human rights. Collinsworth tells the lively story with all the gusto it deserves.” —Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winner and author of Scientist: E.O. Wilson “Everything about Victoria Woodhull was audacious, and Eden Collinsworth captures the twists and turns of her remarkable life with ingenuity and elan. Born in poverty and abused by her parents, Woodhull made fortunes and married into them….She defied the expectations for women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries…a sympathetic, sweeping story with a fascinating cast of characters drawn from impressive research.” —Sally Bedell Smith, author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy “[A] beguiling biography of Victoria Woodhull (1838–1927), a groundbreaking and enigmatic figure in women’s history. . . .Collinsworth’s Woodhull is captivating . . . .A transfixing character study.” —Publishers Weekly “A zesty biography of a colorful woman in the raucous Gilded Age.” —Kirkus Reviews “Victoria Woodhull provides a thrilling lens through which to interrogate the American dream. Full of twists and turns, Collinsworth’s audacious narration and nuanced understanding of the political machine of Woodhull’s time makes her work a gift for the reader. The Improbable Victoria Woodhull brings history to life with humanity, wit, and impeccable flair.” —Gay Talese, author of Bartleby and Me: Reflections of an Old Scrivener
