A Conversation with Jen Knox, Author of Radicals

Victoria Woodhull was a nineteenth-century spiritualist, suffragist, stockbroker, and the first woman to run for president. She is also, until now, a woman many people have never heard of. In her novel Radicals, Jen Knox brings Woodhull to life alongside a present-day woman named Avery, whose own creative and personal struggles become entangled with Victoria's story across more than 150 years. We talked with Knox about the book and the questions it raises.

What drew Knox to Woodhull was not the famous headline but the origin. "She was from a small Ohio town, Homer, which is near where I live," Knox says. "She grew up poor and was exploited early by her parents as a traveling child psychic who could speak to the dead. I wanted to explore the constitution of a woman who came from that upbringing to run for the US presidency and become a first in so many other regards."

The novel moves between Victoria's nineteenth-century life and Avery's present-day caregiving and creative struggle. Placing the two women in conversation let Knox explore something a straight historical novel could not. "Avery portrays the creative stall a small-town woman might face in the US of today, both politically and socially," Knox explains. "Her character is facing real issues and finds solace in the story of an intrepid woman who lived 150 years before her. Avery is seeking autonomy and justice for her family, while also posing a philosophical question: how did Victoria accomplish so much with so few rights, and would a similar story even be possible today?"

The two women's choices echo and diverge in revealing ways. Knox reframes the idea of ambition: "What is possible when a woman bucks an unjust system, and just how much might she have to sacrifice? The Victoria I explored was values-driven and unique but became truly ambitious after gaining some unlikely success with even more unlikely financial backers. Avery, meanwhile, is unsure what she wants. She wishes to have ambition, but what she ultimately needs to discover is purpose."

Avery's research into Victoria's life begins to blur into haunting, a choice Knox made deliberately. "Victoria worked as a medium throughout her life, and after reading enough of her personal accounts, I believed her to be a woman who leveraged her belief system to find endurance in a relentless world. Given her Spiritualism, it seemed a natural decision to give her spirit a voice in the novel." The result is a story that honors Woodhull's own relationship with the spirit realm while showing the connection between two women's stories across time.

Family loyalty shapes both characters. "Victoria was very loyal to her family, often despite their behavior toward her," Knox notes. "I found the family dynamics compelling as both characters developed."

When asked what she hopes readers reconsider about women who refuse to be erased, Knox's answer is characteristically open. "I want people to take what they need from the story. I truly believe the best literature and most important storytelling poses more questions than it answers. That said, my hope is that the story will offer some inspiration to those who feel stuck."

Jen Knox's Radicals arrives November 17 from Library Tales Publishing.