Book Review
Soon to be a Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer, Self Made is the first full-scale biography of “one of the great success stories of American history” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Madam C.J. Walker—the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist, written by her great-great-granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles.
In this wonderful 2020 edition of the first book-length account of entrepreneur Madam C J Walker’s life, her biographer has written a new epilogue and provided additional information about Walker’s millionaire status. In Self Made, we learn the story of one of the most inspirational and ground-breaking women entrepreneurs of her time in the US, Madam C J Walker. The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Sarah Breedlove—who would become known as Madam C. J. Walker—was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen, and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then—with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women—everything changed. She became a pioneer of the modern cosmetics industry and the founder of the Madam C J Walker Manufacturing Company. She created innovative marketing schemes, training opportunities, and distribution strategies that were truly groundbreaking in their time. As an early advocate of women’s economic independence, she provided lucrative incomes for thousands of African American women who otherwise would have been consigned to jobs as farm labourers, washerwomen and maids. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women, and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism.
Author quotes
Our stories are powerful. I write the books I wish had been written for me.
Madam C J Walker’s story has always deserved an expansive loom on which to weave the threads of her legendary life with the broad themes and major events of American history.
As much as any woman of the twentieth century, Madam Walker paved the way for the profound social changes that altered women’s place in American society.
About the author
A’Lelia Bundles is an engaging public speaker and skilled MC, who brings warmth, intelligence, humor and a strong grasp of current events and history to her presentations. Author and journalist A’Lelia Bundles writes biographies about the amazing women in her family: entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker and Harlem Renaissance icon A’Lelia Walker. She also speaks at conferences, colleges, corporations and other venues about entrepreneurship, philanthropy, financial literacy and women’s and African American history. She is at work on her fifth book, The Joy Goddess of Harlem: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, about her great-grandmother whose parties, arts patronage and travels helped define the era. After a 30-year career as an executive and Emmy award winning producer with ABC News and NBC News, she now is brand historian for MCJW, a line of hair care products inspired by Madam Walker and created by Sundial Brands. She is a trustee of Columbia University and chair emerita of the National Archives Foundation. On Her Own Ground, her biography of Madam Walker, is a New York Times Notable Book and the non-fiction source for the fictionalized four-part Netflix series that premiered on March 20, 2020. She founded the Madam Walker Family Archives and is on the advisory boards of the March on Washington Film Festival, the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and has participated in writing residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell.
Why LoA loves it….
If you ever wanted to read an inspirational story of how it’s possible to rise to the top of a tough industry sector and make it your own, no matter what your start in life, then Self Made is a great read for you. It is not only the first comprehensive biography of one of recent history’s most amazing entrepreneurs and philanthropists in the US, but it is also the very personal story of a true African American icon, told by her great, great grand-daughter. This personal account draws you into the fascinating life of Madam C J Walker and her powerful entrepreneurial journey. If you ever wanted to be inspired to think the impossible is possible in business and in life, then this is a must-read book for you. We love it! — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa