In 1847, Lucy Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree.

When she arrived at Oberlin College, she had to petition the university to take their public speaking courses. Women were excluded from taking oratory classes.

She graduated in the top ten percent of her class and was chosen to write the commencement address, the highest honor for any Oberlin student.

The kicker? After she wrote it she found out that she would have to choose a MAN to read HER speech.

She refused.

That refusal garnered the attention of two trailblazing abolitionists—Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison.

They enlisted Stone to travel the country speaking out against slavery.

As she traveled across the country, she had to go door to door inviting people to come hear her speak.

Very few women, if any, were speaking publicly. She was heckled and harassed, but eventually became one of the most popular speakers of the day, out earning her male counterparts in speaking fees.

She would go on to advocate for women’s rights and voting rights for all people.

She worked closely with the likes of Susan B. Anthony, but there’s a reason most people don’t know Lucy Stone’s name. This work of historical fiction explains why