Sex Wars: A Novel of the Turbulent Post-Civil War Period

by: Marge Piercy

Published by: William Morrow

Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhar

For anyone who hinks that the feminist, free love, and/or birth control movements were by-products of the 1960s, author Marge Piercy sets them straight in her 2005 novel. The book follows four main plot lines of three historical figures and a fictional immigrant, beginning in 1868--and sex is the common thread.

The first historical cast member is free lover and spiritualist Victoria Woodhull. She and her sister, Tennie, do well, eventually opening a stock trading office with Victoria's husband, James.

While the sisters, who learned well how to fleece rubes from their parents, seem to be able to comfort the aging Cornelius Vanderbilt, the chapters devoted to Woodhull provide an interesting insight into the early days of female-owned business that had traditionally been male-dominated.

Suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who along with Susan B. Anthony, push the feminist movement into the national arena with their right-to-vote crusade. These chapters are vital in illustrating how difficult the suffragette movement was to begin; the traveling required; the money necessary to print newsletters, pamphlets, and hold conventions. These chapters, more than anything else, point to who got lasting credit (Anthony) for the movement, and who got last billing (Cady Stanton) in the history books.

Third, readers get a fascinating view of obsession. Anthony Comstock goes from severely constrained young man to an extreme moralist who vows to put every producer and seller of anything sexual, erotic or pornographic, out of business.

Freydeh Leibowitz, a Russian-Jewish immigrant who struggles to make ends meet, is the most interesting character. After her husband is killed, Freydeh must make a living. First she works in a pharmacy, then learns to make condoms cheaper and better than her competition. The living conditions of immigrants, whores, saloonkeepers, children, and the upper class are all on display in Freydeh's sections and prove to be the novel's most powerful aspect.

The first 250 pages are fascinating, enthralling, and certainly educational. However the remaining 158 pages is mere repetition of the same scene. The book also ended too abruptly before moving into an epilogue of the last days of each character.

Armchair Interview says: A unique look at women in history, real and created.