AFTERWORD
AFTERWORD
At the end of her speech that night, Victoria walked to the edge of the stage and extended her hands to the waiting officers so that she could be arrested. She and Tennie were jailed and rearrested several times over the next several months. In all, more than a dozen charges were brought against them, but Reverend Beecher never sued them for libel. Between court appearances, they managed to survive on lecture fees earned as both women toured the country, taking advantage of the public’s desire to see the “female jailbirds.”
The trial over the obscenity charges finally took place June 26-27, 1873. The Challis libel case didn’t reach court until March 1874. Victoria and Tennie were found not guilty of all charges in both cases.
Theodore Tilton went on to sue Henry War
