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Bringing Down the Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the "Powerless" Woman Who Took on Washington
The woman--and her illicit affair--that rocked Victorian America
When Madeline Pollard was a teenager, she began an extended affair with the Kentucky Congressman William Breckinridge, one of the most influential men in America. Breckinridge was married, and he once declared women's chastity "the cornerstone of human society." He seduced Pollard, and when his wife died, he asked for her hand. After a decade-long affair, they were to be married--but then Breckinridge broke off the engagement and suddenly married another woman.
In 1893, Pollard sued Breckinridge for breach of promise, and their affair--in all its indecorous detail--became shockingly public. 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 the same way. In court, she said, "I'll take my share of the blame. I only ask that he take his." The sensational five-week trial woke Victorian women up to the harsh injustice of double standards. And, surprisingly, Pollard won.
Nearly 125 years after the Breckinridge-Pollard scandal, we're still obsessed with sexual morality and the role women play in maintaining it. From concern about the decline of marriage and the rise of "hook-up" culture to battles over contraception and abortion, the underlying concern is the regulation of appropriate sexual behavior for women. Bringing Down Breckinridge is the story of one of the earliest women to take a stand against that regulation. Using trial transcripts, newspaper coverage, personal journals, and letters, the journalist Patricia Miller chronicles the fascinating and virtually unknown Pollard-Breckinridge trial, arguing for its rightful place within the history of women's rights.
When Madeline Pollard was a teenager, she began an extended affair with the Kentucky Congressman William Breckinridge, one of the most influential men in America. Breckinridge was married, and he once declared women's chastity "the cornerstone of human society." He seduced Pollard, and when his wife died, he asked for her hand. After a decade-long affair, they were to be married--but then Breckinridge broke off the engagement and suddenly married another woman.
In 1893, Pollard sued Breckinridge for breach of promise, and their affair--in all its indecorous detail--became shockingly public. 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 the same way. In court, she said, "I'll take my share of the blame. I only ask that he take his." The sensational five-week trial woke Victorian women up to the harsh injustice of double standards. And, surprisingly, Pollard won.
Nearly 125 years after the Breckinridge-Pollard scandal, we're still obsessed with sexual morality and the role women play in maintaining it. From concern about the decline of marriage and the rise of "hook-up" culture to battles over contraception and abortion, the underlying concern is the regulation of appropriate sexual behavior for women. Bringing Down Breckinridge is the story of one of the earliest women to take a stand against that regulation. Using trial transcripts, newspaper coverage, personal journals, and letters, the journalist Patricia Miller chronicles the fascinating and virtually unknown Pollard-Breckinridge trial, arguing for its rightful place within the history of women's rights.
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First published November 13, 2018
About the author
Patricia Miller
3 books62 followersPatricia Miller is an award-winning author and journalist whose fascination with the untold stories of women led her on a 10-year journey to unearth the story of the Breckinridge–Pollard scandal. Her work on the interplay of politics and sexual morality has appeared in The Atlantic, Salon, The Nation, Huffington Post, and Ms. Magazine. She received a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and lives outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and dog.
If you would like to invite Patricia Miller to join your book club live (DC area) or by Skype to discuss Bringing Down the Colonel, you can contact her at: contactpattimiller@gmail.com.
If you would like to invite Patricia Miller to join your book club live (DC area) or by Skype to discuss Bringing Down the Colonel, you can contact her at: contactpattimiller@gmail.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
May 1, 2021
This book has a dual purpose: an overview of women's rights in the late 19th century; and an infamous trial which demonstrates the effects of that discrimination.
"Fallen women" was a term used for unmarried women who had a sexual liaison before marriage and heaven forbid, a child as a result of that liaison. Men took mistresses and the public averted their eyes but a woman was chastised and irredeemably ruined. And they had no recourse until one brave female decided to take legal action against her lover.
Madeline Pollard was a teenager when she became the mistress of the married, 54 year old Col. W.C.Breckinridge, a respected member of politically connected Kentucky society and a member of the US Congress. Breckinridge promised Madeline that he would marry her as soon a his wife, who was in very poor health, died, and their affair lasted for almost a decade. After his wife's death, he started delaying the marriage plans and suddenly married another woman.
This led Madeline to bring suit against Col.Breckinridge for breach of promise. The public response was "How dare she, a 'fallen woman', make her 'sins' public and place the Colonel in such an awkward situation". Such were the times. The book gives quite a bit of space to the trial and, unlike most records of trials, it will hold your interest throughout.
I will go no further as to the outcome and the fate of those involved, so you will have to read this fascinating book. I would recommend that you do so........it is worth it.
"Fallen women" was a term used for unmarried women who had a sexual liaison before marriage and heaven forbid, a child as a result of that liaison. Men took mistresses and the public averted their eyes but a woman was chastised and irredeemably ruined. And they had no recourse until one brave female decided to take legal action against her lover.
Madeline Pollard was a teenager when she became the mistress of the married, 54 year old Col. W.C.Breckinridge, a respected member of politically connected Kentucky society and a member of the US Congress. Breckinridge promised Madeline that he would marry her as soon a his wife, who was in very poor health, died, and their affair lasted for almost a decade. After his wife's death, he started delaying the marriage plans and suddenly married another woman.
This led Madeline to bring suit against Col.Breckinridge for breach of promise. The public response was "How dare she, a 'fallen woman', make her 'sins' public and place the Colonel in such an awkward situation". Such were the times. The book gives quite a bit of space to the trial and, unlike most records of trials, it will hold your interest throughout.
I will go no further as to the outcome and the fate of those involved, so you will have to read this fascinating book. I would recommend that you do so........it is worth it.
December 10, 2018
A must-read for any one who cares or is interested in women's history.
November 6, 2018
Bringing Down the Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age, and the ‘Powerless’ Woman Who Took On Washington
A look at things in Victorian America for women. A Kentucky lawyer and politician makes promises he won’t keep and plays fast and loose with young women while his wife is at home. When he’s finally brought up short and one files a lawsuit against him for breach of promise, he tries to brush her off, using his power and prominence to quiet her. Madeline Pollard files a lawsuit after Colonel Breckenridge marries another woman, leaving her in the lurch after nearly 10 years of promises to marry her. She’s left with a bad reputation and no future and takes up residence in a residence for wayward women.
Another young woman, Jennie Tucker goes undercover for the defense using another name to try and befriend Pollard and gain intel. The case goes to court, and Pollard gives her side of things, showing all that the Colonel has truly put her through, and all that she has given up for him, including the children she bore him. The case is ascribed to changing the feeling of people against women being the only party responsible when there is a public outing of a couple doing wrong, never the male, prior to this case. Sentiments became harder toward men after this in terms of morality. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, author Patricia Miller, and the publisher for my fair review.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux 384 pages
Pub: Nov 13th, 2018
My BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
A look at things in Victorian America for women. A Kentucky lawyer and politician makes promises he won’t keep and plays fast and loose with young women while his wife is at home. When he’s finally brought up short and one files a lawsuit against him for breach of promise, he tries to brush her off, using his power and prominence to quiet her. Madeline Pollard files a lawsuit after Colonel Breckenridge marries another woman, leaving her in the lurch after nearly 10 years of promises to marry her. She’s left with a bad reputation and no future and takes up residence in a residence for wayward women.
Another young woman, Jennie Tucker goes undercover for the defense using another name to try and befriend Pollard and gain intel. The case goes to court, and Pollard gives her side of things, showing all that the Colonel has truly put her through, and all that she has given up for him, including the children she bore him. The case is ascribed to changing the feeling of people against women being the only party responsible when there is a public outing of a couple doing wrong, never the male, prior to this case. Sentiments became harder toward men after this in terms of morality. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, author Patricia Miller, and the publisher for my fair review.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux 384 pages
Pub: Nov 13th, 2018
My BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
August 14, 2018
There are more non-fiction narratives of bullying being published. Or so it seems to me. While reading this book, I also tore through an appalling account of present-day avarice-led bullying by lawyers and executives in Silicon Valley. This micro-history is a bullying story of the old-school, with Kentucky Congressman and revolting hypocrite William Breckinridge struggling mightily in 1894 to shut down the woman he first seduced when she was 16 (so she said, there is some disagreement). He then strung her along with promises that he would marry her when his sickly wife died. This he did through ten years and no less that three pregnancies, all the while publicly mouthing the clichés of the sanctity of marriage, which is of course a mix of behaviors all too familiar from politicians and self-appointed moral guardians in our own age. When Breckinridge's wife finally passed away, the Congressman quickly married a better-connected woman from the pathetic aristocracy of his backward native region, who might better enable him to pursue his twin hobbies of personal advancement and living beyond his means.
The abandoned woman, Madeline Pollard, [insert “hell hath no... ”, etc., here], brought a breach of promise suit against Breckinridge and, to the astonishment of many and contrary to previous practice, won a settlement equivalent to three years' salary for a Congressman. (Today, a Congressman earns $422,000 in three years.) This, in spite of tactics of moral-midget lawyers, which are completely, and sadly, familiar today: spreading lies and misinformation in the news media, and hiring a spy to attempt to befriend and betray. However, it turned out that Pollard was not entirely bereft of resources, and neither a dummy or a shrinking violet, besides.
In our sad times, it is easy to get cynical and snarky about all that “arc of history bending toward justice” stuff that seemed inspiring only a few short years ago. But moments like this can, perhaps, demonstrate that the slow accumulation of activist-driven changes in social norms, reasoning, and attitude, may not be perceptible when one day looks pretty much like the day before, but can still result in court-delivered justice becoming more like genuine justice than it was before. Cast-off women were mocked and humiliated in court before 1894 – what changed? Perhaps the small but noticeable details in the life of the average person – the female relative who had found happiness through the pursuit of education, the knowledge that belovéd sisters had been the recipients from unwanted attention from local boors, the armies of women contributing to family prosperity through jobs of long hours of insufferable tedium – made it more difficult to sit quietly by and ignore or condemn Madeline Pollard in the same way that similarly-wronged women had been in the past.
I'm a sucker for this sort of book: that is, one about a historical event that created a lot of sound and fury in its time, receded, and was forgotten – and can now be looked at with fresh eyes. This particular book is also fairly cheerful in its own peculiar way, as it is evidence that villains sometimes get the excoriation they deserve – first, in their lifetimes, and then once again, in posterity.
I received a free electronic advance review copy of this book via Netgalley and Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
The abandoned woman, Madeline Pollard, [insert “hell hath no... ”, etc., here], brought a breach of promise suit against Breckinridge and, to the astonishment of many and contrary to previous practice, won a settlement equivalent to three years' salary for a Congressman. (Today, a Congressman earns $422,000 in three years.) This, in spite of tactics of moral-midget lawyers, which are completely, and sadly, familiar today: spreading lies and misinformation in the news media, and hiring a spy to attempt to befriend and betray. However, it turned out that Pollard was not entirely bereft of resources, and neither a dummy or a shrinking violet, besides.
In our sad times, it is easy to get cynical and snarky about all that “arc of history bending toward justice” stuff that seemed inspiring only a few short years ago. But moments like this can, perhaps, demonstrate that the slow accumulation of activist-driven changes in social norms, reasoning, and attitude, may not be perceptible when one day looks pretty much like the day before, but can still result in court-delivered justice becoming more like genuine justice than it was before. Cast-off women were mocked and humiliated in court before 1894 – what changed? Perhaps the small but noticeable details in the life of the average person – the female relative who had found happiness through the pursuit of education, the knowledge that belovéd sisters had been the recipients from unwanted attention from local boors, the armies of women contributing to family prosperity through jobs of long hours of insufferable tedium – made it more difficult to sit quietly by and ignore or condemn Madeline Pollard in the same way that similarly-wronged women had been in the past.
I'm a sucker for this sort of book: that is, one about a historical event that created a lot of sound and fury in its time, receded, and was forgotten – and can now be looked at with fresh eyes. This particular book is also fairly cheerful in its own peculiar way, as it is evidence that villains sometimes get the excoriation they deserve – first, in their lifetimes, and then once again, in posterity.
I received a free electronic advance review copy of this book via Netgalley and Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
July 30, 2018
When Jennie Tucker heads to Washington D.C. with the promise of a lucrative position, she has no idea what her employer has in mind for her. A single woman nearing her thirties, Jennie comes from a good family that has a beautiful home, but no money to maintain it—or her.
In Victorian America on the east coast, economic necessity forced more and more women to enter the work force when they failed to marry and their parents could no longer support them. But entering the work force carried a horrible stigma. Men viewed working girls as prey. A woman who left the traditional career path of wife and mother found herself subject to the unwanted advances of bosses, co-workers, and acquaintances.
When Jennie arrives, she discovers that Mr. Stoll, her employer, wants her to befriend a certain infamous Madeline Pollard. Jennie, happy for a position that allows her to play spy and detective, sets out to discover incriminating evidence against the woman who had recently sued the famous Colonel William P. C. Breckinridge for ‘breach of promise.’
Breach of promise suits almost never went well for the woman. In the Victorian era, a breach of promise suite implied that a woman had given her virginity to a man in exchange for a promise of marriage and now had ‘neither her virginity nor a wedding band to show for it.’ What made Madeline Pollard’s case especially scandalous was her claim that her relationship with Breckinridge had spanned eight years and produced multiple children. The colonel, during this time, was married.
A fascinating true story about how a brave woman helped change the Victorian double standard that posited that a woman must come to the alter pure, while a man could have multiple affairs—both before and after marriage.
The author weaves in fascinating facts about social mores from the Puritans to the Victorians. She explains how the double-standard at the time of the court case hurt women who strove to gain an education and gain acceptance in a world ruled by men. Readers of Erik Larson will enjoy the way the author weaves history and narrative together in a well-researched book that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.
In Victorian America on the east coast, economic necessity forced more and more women to enter the work force when they failed to marry and their parents could no longer support them. But entering the work force carried a horrible stigma. Men viewed working girls as prey. A woman who left the traditional career path of wife and mother found herself subject to the unwanted advances of bosses, co-workers, and acquaintances.
When Jennie arrives, she discovers that Mr. Stoll, her employer, wants her to befriend a certain infamous Madeline Pollard. Jennie, happy for a position that allows her to play spy and detective, sets out to discover incriminating evidence against the woman who had recently sued the famous Colonel William P. C. Breckinridge for ‘breach of promise.’
Breach of promise suits almost never went well for the woman. In the Victorian era, a breach of promise suite implied that a woman had given her virginity to a man in exchange for a promise of marriage and now had ‘neither her virginity nor a wedding band to show for it.’ What made Madeline Pollard’s case especially scandalous was her claim that her relationship with Breckinridge had spanned eight years and produced multiple children. The colonel, during this time, was married.
A fascinating true story about how a brave woman helped change the Victorian double standard that posited that a woman must come to the alter pure, while a man could have multiple affairs—both before and after marriage.
The author weaves in fascinating facts about social mores from the Puritans to the Victorians. She explains how the double-standard at the time of the court case hurt women who strove to gain an education and gain acceptance in a world ruled by men. Readers of Erik Larson will enjoy the way the author weaves history and narrative together in a well-researched book that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.
November 23, 2019
An absolutely fascinating read w (sadly) contemporary overtones. This was incredibly well researched book, enlivened by the original source quotes. Colonel Breckinridge complained about: "women doctors who are abortionists, women type-writers who are treacherous" and "ladies who attend conventions, deliver speeches and shriek for all sort of things which they call reform." The good news is that he was brought down. The bad news is that there are many like him on twitter today.
Breckinridge was a Confederate Colonel. Miller describes the "hierarchical, predatory southern ethic, which held that any woman who wasn't protected by her father and domestic isolation was fair game, and became part of the debauched class necessary to protect the purity of respectable women."
Also very interesting, general history of courtship with stats about how many babies were born to recent newlyweds during different eras. The story dragged a bit during the court scenes, but overall I would highly recommend.
Breckinridge was a Confederate Colonel. Miller describes the "hierarchical, predatory southern ethic, which held that any woman who wasn't protected by her father and domestic isolation was fair game, and became part of the debauched class necessary to protect the purity of respectable women."
Also very interesting, general history of courtship with stats about how many babies were born to recent newlyweds during different eras. The story dragged a bit during the court scenes, but overall I would highly recommend.
August 27, 2026
It was a bit meandering and a little hard to keep up with the characters at first since there were so many, but overall it was an interesting story with a lot of historical tidbits.
January 4, 2019
What a fascinating history, one involving feminism, politics, law, and the ever-present double-standard in American society. Miller does a great job introducing to readers a wide cast of characters in this complex story, providing the background for each individual and ensuring that the reader is clearly able to distinguish between everyone and their roles in the case. I loved this book!
February 6, 2019
“The world seemed to be shifting under his feet, as were ideas about who was fit to sit in judgment of whom.” - Patricia Miller, Bringing Down the Colonel
If you’ve been following along, you’ve probably seen this book appear on my various TBR pictures since December. I’ve been wanting to read it since I heard it discussed on @bookriot ’s non-fiction podcast, For Real, and because it was the @belletrist book of the month in November, but after a wait to get the library book, it kept getting pushed down on my TBR.
I finally tackled it, taking it with me to a Pi Phi event in St. Louis two weekends ago, which of course, was a rookie mistake. I never get much reading down at Pi Phi events, there’s no time! I think I read a total of 10 sleepy pages over the course of two nights and took this photo of it in front of the Arch.
As I mentioned on Saturday, there’s a lot to keep track of in this book, but the main story revolves around Madeline Pollard who sued Col. W.C.P. Breckinridge, a five-term House representative from Kentucky, for breach of promise to marry. There’s a lot of interesting history and explanation here, including an explanation of how, for the Puritans, for example, out of wedlock babies weren’t really such a big deal even though we tend to think of them having scarlet letter type shame. Normally these lawsuits didn’t go well for the women, but Pollard had some factors on her side. It’s definitely an interesting an relevant read!
If you’ve been following along, you’ve probably seen this book appear on my various TBR pictures since December. I’ve been wanting to read it since I heard it discussed on @bookriot ’s non-fiction podcast, For Real, and because it was the @belletrist book of the month in November, but after a wait to get the library book, it kept getting pushed down on my TBR.
I finally tackled it, taking it with me to a Pi Phi event in St. Louis two weekends ago, which of course, was a rookie mistake. I never get much reading down at Pi Phi events, there’s no time! I think I read a total of 10 sleepy pages over the course of two nights and took this photo of it in front of the Arch.
As I mentioned on Saturday, there’s a lot to keep track of in this book, but the main story revolves around Madeline Pollard who sued Col. W.C.P. Breckinridge, a five-term House representative from Kentucky, for breach of promise to marry. There’s a lot of interesting history and explanation here, including an explanation of how, for the Puritans, for example, out of wedlock babies weren’t really such a big deal even though we tend to think of them having scarlet letter type shame. Normally these lawsuits didn’t go well for the women, but Pollard had some factors on her side. It’s definitely an interesting an relevant read!
March 27, 2019
I absolutely LOVED this book! It's part courtroom drama, part tawdry affair, part spy potboiler, part history, part woman's rights saga--In other words, it has EVERYTHING!!
With the 100th anniversary of woman's suffrage around the corner, I've been reading quite a bit about the battle for the ballot. This book puts so much into context. It really paints the picture of why women like Susan B Anthony & Lucretia Mott & Lucy Stone were necessary--vital for the rights we take for granted today. It's hard to put into perspective how women had to live 125 years ago, but after reading this book, I can finally see the whole picture, and while we still have a way to go, I cannot thank Ms Miller enough for this gift.
Oh, and I almost forgot the best part.... The moral of this story? Don't. F. With. WOMEN!!
With the 100th anniversary of woman's suffrage around the corner, I've been reading quite a bit about the battle for the ballot. This book puts so much into context. It really paints the picture of why women like Susan B Anthony & Lucretia Mott & Lucy Stone were necessary--vital for the rights we take for granted today. It's hard to put into perspective how women had to live 125 years ago, but after reading this book, I can finally see the whole picture, and while we still have a way to go, I cannot thank Ms Miller enough for this gift.
Oh, and I almost forgot the best part.... The moral of this story? Don't. F. With. WOMEN!!
December 10, 2018
BRINGING DOWN THE COLONEL is a nonfiction account of Madeline Pollard’s lawsuit against Colonel W.C.P. Breckinridge for abandonment (he had a shotgun marriage with another woman while engaged to Pollard) in 1893. Sadly, DC didn’t have seduction laws, which many other states had at the time. Pollard’s aim is to make Breckinridge have his share of the blame, shame and consequences. This lively account explores a ten year affair that Pollard believed would end in marriage. Instead, it ends will this suit. Throughout, there are some great tidbits to help the reader truly understand the times. Such as, “Too much education would harm women because it would overtax their brains and draw vital energy from their reproductive organs” (p. 109-110). This is a story of one woman defying the time she lives in to take what she deserves. Pollard is standing up for her rights and refusing to be harmed by a man or let that man continue to pursue his career unpunished
January 23, 2019
That I stumbled across this volume by Patricia Miller is a sign that 2019 may be unusually kind to me. It is a delightful blend of history, politics and sex, a tale from the end of the 19th Century told in amazing detail and a keen appreciation for what it all meant. Miller makes a good case that the fall of Colonel Breckinridge at the hands of his mistress, Madeline Pollard, proved a turning point in the shift for American women and American values. It's a good read and fine book.
April 22, 2019
Excellent biography/history of late 19th century sex scandal. I'm not sure much has changed since then ...
January 29, 2019
I don’t remember anymore where I heard about this book but I’m glad I did. Part courtroom drama, part lurid affair details, part examination of the historical context of breach of promise lawsuits and changing sexual mores, this is a thrilling read.
November 11, 2020
Scandal
This was really very informative and entertaining. The history supplied begins in Colonial times unto the 40s and follows the lives of some extraordinary women after a harrowing trial.
This was really very informative and entertaining. The history supplied begins in Colonial times unto the 40s and follows the lives of some extraordinary women after a harrowing trial.
November 24, 2019
This is a fascinating and engaging read that I would especially recommend to anyone with even a vague interest in U.S. history, women's history, the history of sexuality, political history, or law (I'd recommend it to anyone, but that vague interest might inspire them to pick up the book).
Miller provides a lot of context for social norms at the time, which is an incredibly important piece of the story-without those details, it's hard to understand why people might have acted the way they did. It's difficult to write about events that happened long ago without either leaving a lot of blanks or wildly speculating to fill in those blanks. Miller does a great job of being clear about what is based on direct evidence and what's hidden between the lines.
I previously read Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia, which is very dry, but discusses a lot of the legal and social issues that come up in this book at an earlier time in U.S. history. It was informative to have read both-although I'm much more likely to recommend this book.
Miller provides a lot of context for social norms at the time, which is an incredibly important piece of the story-without those details, it's hard to understand why people might have acted the way they did. It's difficult to write about events that happened long ago without either leaving a lot of blanks or wildly speculating to fill in those blanks. Miller does a great job of being clear about what is based on direct evidence and what's hidden between the lines.
I previously read Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia, which is very dry, but discusses a lot of the legal and social issues that come up in this book at an earlier time in U.S. history. It was informative to have read both-although I'm much more likely to recommend this book.
January 4, 2019
“The real combatants, though, were two worldview about women and sex. One was the hierarchical, predatory southern ethic, which held that any woman who wasn’t protected by her father and domestic isolation was fair game and became part of a debauched class necessary to protect the purity of respectable women… The other was the more egalitarian ethic of the western elite- the descendants of the pious but fair minded Puritans that increasingly saw men and women as equals and men as responsible as women for upholding high, nonpredatory, standards of sexual mortality. “
Patricia Miller’s Bringing Down the Colonel is a great read for anyone interested in American History. It was eye opening to read that women in the 1890s were struggling with similar societal problems as women are today. There were multiple history lessons in this book that I am shocked I have never heard about previously. This book reads like fiction and I highly recommend!
Patricia Miller’s Bringing Down the Colonel is a great read for anyone interested in American History. It was eye opening to read that women in the 1890s were struggling with similar societal problems as women are today. There were multiple history lessons in this book that I am shocked I have never heard about previously. This book reads like fiction and I highly recommend!
August 9, 2019
Thoughtful, detailed history. Fascinating story. I learned a lot reading this--so many modern applications.
January 2, 2019
Over a century before the onset of #metoo, a previously unknown woman brought a breach of marriage suit against a powerful Washington politician. This was no small thing since she would be required to reveal her status as a “fallen woman.” Nevertheless, she took him to court in 1893, won the trial in 1894, ended his career the same year, and was consigned to the footnotes of history. Long before the likes of Harvey Weinstein graced the tabloids with accounts of disgusting behavior, Patricia Miller had heard of Madeline Pollard and begun investigating her case against one William Campbell Preston “Willie” Breckinridge.
A married man having a mistress is nothing new. In fact, the higher up in society you were the more it was almost expected of you. Both wife and mistress were kept handsomely and each had a role to play in the man’s life. But society also had unwritten rules regarding the situation: the wife should never acknowledge – or have to confront - her husband’s infidelities, and the mistress should never publicly reveal her position as Madeline Pollard did.
Miller’s book doesn’t just look at the trial and surrounding media accounts. She includes a brief history of marriage and pre-marital sex in America, and why Pollard’s case was so groundbreaking. She also looks at the sad case of Maria Halpin, who found herself pregnant with Grover Cleveland’s child after, she alleged, he raped her. Cleveland went on to be President while Halpin’s reputation was smeared forever. Cleveland was elected in 1884 and 1892. He was Breckinridge’s contemporary, in more ways than one. The final third of the book looks at Breckinridge’s re-election campaign and how women’s attitudes were changing as a result of the trial. Breckinridge lost the election due to the voices of a populace who couldn’t even vote.
Patricia Miller took ten years to research and write Bringing Down the Colonel. The result is an in-depth, yet easy to read, accounting of the scandal and how opinions on sexual relations outside of marriage and women’s rights have changed since colonial times. Are there difficulties? Yes, but they aren’t Miller’s fault. There were a large number of players involved – from legal advisors to society doyennes – and a Who’s Who might’ve been a nice addition. The involvement of Jane “Jennie” Tucker sounds almost made up – until I found independent proof that she did actually exist – but she provides an interesting counterpoint to the women who sided with Pollard. She was hired by Breckinridge’s supporters to spy for his legal team, but never received payment for her work. The actions of Breckinridge and his cronies show that when it comes to treatment of women, there is nothing new under the sun.
Disclaimer: I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a review, and the words above are my own.
A married man having a mistress is nothing new. In fact, the higher up in society you were the more it was almost expected of you. Both wife and mistress were kept handsomely and each had a role to play in the man’s life. But society also had unwritten rules regarding the situation: the wife should never acknowledge – or have to confront - her husband’s infidelities, and the mistress should never publicly reveal her position as Madeline Pollard did.
Miller’s book doesn’t just look at the trial and surrounding media accounts. She includes a brief history of marriage and pre-marital sex in America, and why Pollard’s case was so groundbreaking. She also looks at the sad case of Maria Halpin, who found herself pregnant with Grover Cleveland’s child after, she alleged, he raped her. Cleveland went on to be President while Halpin’s reputation was smeared forever. Cleveland was elected in 1884 and 1892. He was Breckinridge’s contemporary, in more ways than one. The final third of the book looks at Breckinridge’s re-election campaign and how women’s attitudes were changing as a result of the trial. Breckinridge lost the election due to the voices of a populace who couldn’t even vote.
Patricia Miller took ten years to research and write Bringing Down the Colonel. The result is an in-depth, yet easy to read, accounting of the scandal and how opinions on sexual relations outside of marriage and women’s rights have changed since colonial times. Are there difficulties? Yes, but they aren’t Miller’s fault. There were a large number of players involved – from legal advisors to society doyennes – and a Who’s Who might’ve been a nice addition. The involvement of Jane “Jennie” Tucker sounds almost made up – until I found independent proof that she did actually exist – but she provides an interesting counterpoint to the women who sided with Pollard. She was hired by Breckinridge’s supporters to spy for his legal team, but never received payment for her work. The actions of Breckinridge and his cronies show that when it comes to treatment of women, there is nothing new under the sun.
Disclaimer: I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a review, and the words above are my own.
January 24, 2021
This is an (unfortunately) all-too-familiar story: “Powerful Political Personage vs. a Marginalized Maiden of Modest Means” (see: The People of the State of New York vs. Strauss-Kahn, etc., etc.).
Though I would not consider myself an expert in the early women’s rights movement or the current world that surrounds feminist discourse, I am a film development professional who can recognize good storytelling when I see it. This expertly composed historical account is about the original #MeToo movement some 130 years before the hashtag was ever coined. And whether you are a man or woman, this is a seminal story you should know about…
Author Patricia Miller’s journalistic expertise is apparent from the get-go as she weaves in and out of well-researched character backstories filled with intricate investigative details of events and relationships, but this narrative layering style does not come at the expense of guiding the overarching plot forward.
Alas, we are introduced to one Madeline Pollard, the teenage protagonist (and female anti-hero) of our story as we learn about her humble beginnings and uniquely ambitious disposition. One can quickly sympathize with her underprivileged and disenfranchised life situation. As the book gradually introduces an array of historical male and female characters, that push and pull the main conflict, we are led to a classic courtroom drama filled with all the requisite (and satisfying!) twists and turns of a nail-biter “David-and-Goliath” case. Spoiler alert: “David” (aka Madeline) wins!
Patricia Miller’s Bringing Down the Colonel transported me back to the early years of this country's political/legal landscape by providing the necessary socioeconomic and historical context. In her telling, my imagination was easily suspended in a Gilded Age world of the late 19th century, which is not all that different from the present world we live in. The author explores the omnipresent themes of hypocrisy, media misinformation, political espionage, sexual harassment, pro-choice, gender equality, economic inequality, etc. which will go on as long as human beings exist in this world.
History definitely repeats itself—especially in Washington. The book is rife with complex yet familiar characters that one can easily imagine being hashed out in a screenplay format and brought to life with quality acting. I especially liked Jenny Tucker’s spy character being juxtaposed with Madeline Pollard’s anti hero profile. And this makes no mention of all of the different lawyers, witnesses, allies and enemies that add even more background color to this dramatic painting. This is political courtroom drama gold and a very satisfying read.
Highly recommend getting a hold of this book. Job well done Patricia Miller!
Though I would not consider myself an expert in the early women’s rights movement or the current world that surrounds feminist discourse, I am a film development professional who can recognize good storytelling when I see it. This expertly composed historical account is about the original #MeToo movement some 130 years before the hashtag was ever coined. And whether you are a man or woman, this is a seminal story you should know about…
Author Patricia Miller’s journalistic expertise is apparent from the get-go as she weaves in and out of well-researched character backstories filled with intricate investigative details of events and relationships, but this narrative layering style does not come at the expense of guiding the overarching plot forward.
Alas, we are introduced to one Madeline Pollard, the teenage protagonist (and female anti-hero) of our story as we learn about her humble beginnings and uniquely ambitious disposition. One can quickly sympathize with her underprivileged and disenfranchised life situation. As the book gradually introduces an array of historical male and female characters, that push and pull the main conflict, we are led to a classic courtroom drama filled with all the requisite (and satisfying!) twists and turns of a nail-biter “David-and-Goliath” case. Spoiler alert: “David” (aka Madeline) wins!
Patricia Miller’s Bringing Down the Colonel transported me back to the early years of this country's political/legal landscape by providing the necessary socioeconomic and historical context. In her telling, my imagination was easily suspended in a Gilded Age world of the late 19th century, which is not all that different from the present world we live in. The author explores the omnipresent themes of hypocrisy, media misinformation, political espionage, sexual harassment, pro-choice, gender equality, economic inequality, etc. which will go on as long as human beings exist in this world.
History definitely repeats itself—especially in Washington. The book is rife with complex yet familiar characters that one can easily imagine being hashed out in a screenplay format and brought to life with quality acting. I especially liked Jenny Tucker’s spy character being juxtaposed with Madeline Pollard’s anti hero profile. And this makes no mention of all of the different lawyers, witnesses, allies and enemies that add even more background color to this dramatic painting. This is political courtroom drama gold and a very satisfying read.
Highly recommend getting a hold of this book. Job well done Patricia Miller!
January 27, 2019
Where to begin? An astonishing book that immerses us in the late 1800’s in the United States. It’s a history lesson, a snapshot of the times (post Civil War) and a page turner. It goes all the way back to the Puritans to lay some surprising groundwork about the treatment of women and to explore societal beliefs about marriage, families, and sex.
The story features a famous extramarital affair (him, not her) between a young woman and a prominent Kentucky politician. It went on for 10 years. After bearing children by him, and forced to give them up, after waiting for him to come through on his promise to marry her, Madeline finds herself bereft when “The Colonel “ marries someone else. So she sues him for $50,000 and a big sensational trial ensues.
It’s a watershed moment because, as it turns out, many many people are fed up with the double standard that exists for men and women when it comes to sex. Basically men can do anything they want, but if a woman is caught having sex outside of marriage, she is literally ruined. In addition, as all wars do, the Civil War changed society drastically. For one thing, there was a lack of men, so many young woman were remaining single. Also the economy was booming and needed labor. As women began working in shops, factories, and offices, they became vulnerable to sexual predators whom society and the law did nothing to control or punish. Really, as a young woman, unless you were under the protection of a husband, father, or brother, other men considered you fair game.
Madeline’s lawsuit and trial gave voice to all this and the newspapers covered every sordid detail. The public devoured the story and, as it turned out public opinion was on her side. This was the time of Susan B. Anthony and feminist groups were fired up. Places that were trying to help abandoned, illegitimate babies began speaking out about their work. Women from all walks of life were fired up- from the highest levels of society to the lowest, as well as decent men. This is the Me Too moment of the 1890’s.
The book has 50 pages of notes and bibliography. I can only imagine the time and work that went into this project. I feel very grateful to Patricia Miller for preserving this story.
The story features a famous extramarital affair (him, not her) between a young woman and a prominent Kentucky politician. It went on for 10 years. After bearing children by him, and forced to give them up, after waiting for him to come through on his promise to marry her, Madeline finds herself bereft when “The Colonel “ marries someone else. So she sues him for $50,000 and a big sensational trial ensues.
It’s a watershed moment because, as it turns out, many many people are fed up with the double standard that exists for men and women when it comes to sex. Basically men can do anything they want, but if a woman is caught having sex outside of marriage, she is literally ruined. In addition, as all wars do, the Civil War changed society drastically. For one thing, there was a lack of men, so many young woman were remaining single. Also the economy was booming and needed labor. As women began working in shops, factories, and offices, they became vulnerable to sexual predators whom society and the law did nothing to control or punish. Really, as a young woman, unless you were under the protection of a husband, father, or brother, other men considered you fair game.
Madeline’s lawsuit and trial gave voice to all this and the newspapers covered every sordid detail. The public devoured the story and, as it turned out public opinion was on her side. This was the time of Susan B. Anthony and feminist groups were fired up. Places that were trying to help abandoned, illegitimate babies began speaking out about their work. Women from all walks of life were fired up- from the highest levels of society to the lowest, as well as decent men. This is the Me Too moment of the 1890’s.
The book has 50 pages of notes and bibliography. I can only imagine the time and work that went into this project. I feel very grateful to Patricia Miller for preserving this story.
May 6, 2021
Pretty interesting case about a women scorned who fought back. William Breckinridge is a powerful politician who comes from a very respected and powerful family. He had a long affair with Madeline Pollard in which he had promised to ultimately marry her so when Breckinridge is suddenly a widow Madeline thinks its her time to have Breckinridge all to her self but he marries somebody else. Madeline is livid and sues Breckinridge in court court which was very risky at the time because she had to admit to having had an affair with a married man which at the time would destroy her own reputation.
The double standard of the fact that her reputation would be ruined and the man who had the affair would have his reputation left in tact is exactly what Madeline was fighting to correct. I won't reveal the outcome of the trial but its a well researched and well told story.
Over 100 years later things have improved but the double standard is still in place if to a lesser degree.
The author talks about a couple of other examples around that time period of women paying the price for this double standard including a shocking story about President Cleveland I was not familiar with.
An interesting read.
The double standard of the fact that her reputation would be ruined and the man who had the affair would have his reputation left in tact is exactly what Madeline was fighting to correct. I won't reveal the outcome of the trial but its a well researched and well told story.
Over 100 years later things have improved but the double standard is still in place if to a lesser degree.
The author talks about a couple of other examples around that time period of women paying the price for this double standard including a shocking story about President Cleveland I was not familiar with.
An interesting read.
May 28, 2019
This author has done the reader the great service of exhaustively researching this breach-of-promise court case from the cusp of the 20th century, and distilled it into an eminently accessible account that touches on issues of gender inequality, sexual politics, abuse of power by politicians, voting rights, social class, economic disparity - sound familiar? I was amazed at how women of 1890's America were fighting for causes that I would have thought particular to my lifetime. The realization is depressing. So much is just as bad as it was 130 years ago.
One of the threads, the definition of rape, that the author traces that I found fascinating was the idea that it's not possible for a good girl to be raped. I remember a few years ago, when some idiot Republican asserted that a woman can't become pregnant from a rape. I thought he must have been brain damaged, but it turns out, he deidn't come up with that nonsense on his own - it was a medical "fact" way back when. It also turns out that a good girl can't be raped, because she would fight off her attacker. How convenient for the attacker.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of astonishing history that Ms. Miller has uncovered. Who knew that colonial Americans had such a practical approach to premarital sex? When and why did our views of this change?
Read Bringing Down the Colonel and find out!
One of the threads, the definition of rape, that the author traces that I found fascinating was the idea that it's not possible for a good girl to be raped. I remember a few years ago, when some idiot Republican asserted that a woman can't become pregnant from a rape. I thought he must have been brain damaged, but it turns out, he deidn't come up with that nonsense on his own - it was a medical "fact" way back when. It also turns out that a good girl can't be raped, because she would fight off her attacker. How convenient for the attacker.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of astonishing history that Ms. Miller has uncovered. Who knew that colonial Americans had such a practical approach to premarital sex? When and why did our views of this change?
Read Bringing Down the Colonel and find out!
February 3, 2019
Powerful men taking advantage of women young enough to be their granddaughters? Society judging them completely differently, holding the women to an unfair set of standards? Women are supposed to be pure and undefiled, while men can’t be blamed for wanting a little action on the side?
There’s nothing new under the sun; just new people doing it.
This is a timely book in the #metoo era. Then, like now, women were preyed upon by powerful men with little to no consequence. Then, like now, women have little to no recourse to do anything about it. But at pivotal points of history, a few incidents have broken through to challenge to power structures. We are seeing that now in the #metoo era. This story tells the story of a brave woman who refused to be judged by a double standard. She took the risk and publicly declared herself a “fallen woman” (gasp!) in order to take down a sitting US Senator. And she won.
And then misogyny and sexism and the patriarchy were over! Just kidding. But she did move the needle, like brave women are moving the needle now. Progress is slow and we take a lot of steps backward; I often feel the despair of thinking we’ll never have full equality. But I was cheering for Madeline Pollard and women like her, past and present, who challenge the status quo and say No More. Their bravery and lasting impact should not be forgotten.
There’s nothing new under the sun; just new people doing it.
This is a timely book in the #metoo era. Then, like now, women were preyed upon by powerful men with little to no consequence. Then, like now, women have little to no recourse to do anything about it. But at pivotal points of history, a few incidents have broken through to challenge to power structures. We are seeing that now in the #metoo era. This story tells the story of a brave woman who refused to be judged by a double standard. She took the risk and publicly declared herself a “fallen woman” (gasp!) in order to take down a sitting US Senator. And she won.
And then misogyny and sexism and the patriarchy were over! Just kidding. But she did move the needle, like brave women are moving the needle now. Progress is slow and we take a lot of steps backward; I often feel the despair of thinking we’ll never have full equality. But I was cheering for Madeline Pollard and women like her, past and present, who challenge the status quo and say No More. Their bravery and lasting impact should not be forgotten.
April 20, 2019
Madeline Pollard came of age at a time when women had very few choices in life. After a difficult childhood her hopes of attaining a university education were dashed. Young and vulnerable, she was seduced by a politically prominent older man. A sexual encounter outside of marriage meant automatic ruin for a woman. The man just got a pat on the back for his conquest. The tryst went on for many years and eventually raised Ms Pollard's hope of marriage to her lover. It was not to be. She sued him for breach of promise instead, winning the suit, and setting in motion political currents for women's rights which have yet to abate.
During the course of Ms. Pollard's affair she gave birth to two children who were surrendered to foundling homes were they died still in their infancy. Apparently, during the gilded age (the late nineteenth century), unwanted children, when institutionalized, were shockingly neglected, deprived of nourishment, and soon perished as a matter of course.
During the course of Ms. Pollard's affair she gave birth to two children who were surrendered to foundling homes were they died still in their infancy. Apparently, during the gilded age (the late nineteenth century), unwanted children, when institutionalized, were shockingly neglected, deprived of nourishment, and soon perished as a matter of course.
December 25, 2018
4.5
I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this, to be honest - I was excited to try it but I'm not the biggest fan of nonfiction, so my expectations weren't high. I enjoyed the tone and language a lot - it wasn't bogged down by long academic sounding sentences that I could barely understand, and there were even a few times that I laughed out loud at the authors sarcastic and ironic tone. I thought she painted a well rounded picture of the time and culture, and provided some other previous examples of similar cases. And while it is a story in history primarily about white upper and middle class women and their struggle for equality within society, I appreciate that she mentioned other women and minority's and acknowledged that they faced their own, different struggles at the same time.
I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this, to be honest - I was excited to try it but I'm not the biggest fan of nonfiction, so my expectations weren't high. I enjoyed the tone and language a lot - it wasn't bogged down by long academic sounding sentences that I could barely understand, and there were even a few times that I laughed out loud at the authors sarcastic and ironic tone. I thought she painted a well rounded picture of the time and culture, and provided some other previous examples of similar cases. And while it is a story in history primarily about white upper and middle class women and their struggle for equality within society, I appreciate that she mentioned other women and minority's and acknowledged that they faced their own, different struggles at the same time.
March 15, 2020
WOW. Didn't go into this with many expectations, just thought it would be a dry historical read (which I love, but from a different place in my heart), but this is hits SO MANY WICKETS for me: a Victorian-era sex scandal working its way through the American legal system, with ruined women and society attitudes just as much on trial as the (male, white, rich) defendant. This is a nonfiction version of a sensation novel. It is amazing in its dedication not just to the court case at the center of the book, but for its portraits of all the remarkable women in its orbit. Did y'all know that the first sexual harassment scandal in Congress was in the 19TH CENTURY??? This shit is not new and any man who whines about how women are SUDDENLY demanding unreasonable accommodations needs to read this book--we've been asking for basic dignity since TIME IMMEMORIAL, you dumbasses!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND for women's history month!! The narrator was excellent and she did just the right amount of acting for the voices to keep me immersed in the story. Truly can't recommend this enough.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND for women's history month!! The narrator was excellent and she did just the right amount of acting for the voices to keep me immersed in the story. Truly can't recommend this enough.
July 28, 2020
Sex! Scandal! Spying! This book has it all. I was expecting a salacious retelling of one of the most notorious breach-of-promise cases in history. I got that, but I also got a well-researched explanation of how the sexual double standard in late-1800s America came to exist in the first place. (Did you know that when the Puritans caught a fornicating couple, which was often, the man and the woman had to suffer equal punishment, and that punishment was much less if the couple were already engaged? I didn't. Also, after the punishment the offending parties were welcomed back into the church instead of being punished forever.) Miller does an excellent job tracking down nearly every major player in the case and explaining what happened to each of them for the rest of their lives.
June 29, 2019
A little slow at the beginning but once it gets to the lead up to the trial and the trial coverage, it was a very good read.
And where have we heard this before?
"...the hierarchical, predatory southern ethic, which held that any woman who wasn't protected by her father and domestic isolation was fair ame and became part of a debauched class necessary to protect the purity of respectable women." And, "...the more egalitarian ethic of the earsten elite -- the dexcendants of the pious but fair-minded Puritans -- that increasingly saw men and women as equlas and men as responsible as women for upholidng high, and nonpredatory, standards of sexual morality. To them, fallen women weren't social necessities but victims of a skewed male sexuality."
And where have we heard this before?
"...the hierarchical, predatory southern ethic, which held that any woman who wasn't protected by her father and domestic isolation was fair ame and became part of a debauched class necessary to protect the purity of respectable women." And, "...the more egalitarian ethic of the earsten elite -- the dexcendants of the pious but fair-minded Puritans -- that increasingly saw men and women as equlas and men as responsible as women for upholidng high, and nonpredatory, standards of sexual morality. To them, fallen women weren't social necessities but victims of a skewed male sexuality."
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