Crowned in Fire: The Madam C. J. Walker Story

Born to parents freed by the end of slavery, orphaned by seven, and widowed by twenty, Sarah Breedlove seemed destined for a life of backbreaking labor and quiet suffering. But she refused to stay defined by the cotton rows that raised her. Through determination, ingenuity, and an unshakable belief in her own worth, she transformed herself into Madam C. J. Walker—one of the most successful self-made women in American history. Crowned in Fire follows her stunning journey from washerwoman to empire builder, capturing the triumphs and storms that shaped her legacy. Guided by the power of sisterhood, driven by a hunger for independence, and fueled by the desire to uplift Black women, Madam Walker built a national business that offered not just beauty—but dignity, opportunity, and generational change. Her path was not easy: a collapsing marriage, fierce rivalry with Annie Malone, federal scrutiny, failing health, and a world determined to hold her back. But Madam Walker met every obstacle with the same unstoppable conviction: Black women deserve possibility. Black women deserve wealth. Black women deserve power. A sweeping work of historical fiction, Crowned in Fire paints an intimate, emotional portrait of a visionary who lit a torch that still burns more than a century after her passing. Her empire shaped a movement. Her courage shaped history.