When Anne Morrow, a shy college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family, she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charlesβs assurance and fame, Anne is certain the aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. In the years that follow, Anne becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. But despite this and other major achievements, she is viewed merely as the aviatorβs wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, lifeβs infinite possibilities for change and happiness.
What a treat it was to read The Aviator’s Wife and learn so much about Charles Lindbergh. I avoided reading this book for sometime as I was disappointed with her earlier book, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, yet the author is coming to speak at my local library so I thought Iβd give it a try. Iβm SO glad I did. I not only learned so much about The Lindberghs, but I adored the authorβs voice and the emotions she brought to the characters. In a way, this was a coming of age story as well, as we saw Anne Morrow fight to distinguish her role as aviatorβs wife, ambassador’s daughter, mother, sister and friend. I so often wanted to reach through the pages and give her a backbone and stronger voice, but she was so overshadowed in her husbandβs presence it made me tremble. The rumors of Charles being a Nazi were well portrayed through this story and made me dislike this βheroβ even more. I found the kidnapping not only profoundly sad, but also a lesson in the media, paparazzi and the nonsense that goes along with it. I suppose Anne learned all too well to be careful what one wishes for. Iβm so thankful for Mrs. Benjaminβs authorβs notes that cleared up what is historical fact and what was not. I highly recommend this book for all lovers of historical fiction!
Great visit with Melanie Benjamin when she visited to our library.
Quotes I liked:
…so I could write in the morning-always my favorite time to gather my thoughts. I would rise early, before the children got up, before they pulled at me, tugged at me, stretched me thin as taffy, as children had a way of doing.”
-“Jealousy is a terrible thing. It keeps you up at night, it demands tremendous energy in order to remain alive, and so you have to want to feed it, nurture it- and by so wanting, you have to acknowledge that you are a bitter, petty person. It changes you. It changes the way you view the world; minor irritations become major catastrophes; celebrations become trials.”
Β -“Or a perfect life. A womanβs life, always changing, accommodating, then shedding, old duties for new; one personβs expectations for another until finally, victoriously, emerging stronger. Complete.”
-“And I was alone. For the first time since before I married Charles. Iβd thought marriage would mean Iβd never be lonely. Now I knew: Marriage breeds its own special brand of loneliness, and itβs far more cruel. You miss more, because youβve known more.
-“To live for oneself is a terrifying prospect; there is comfort in martyrdom⦔
Every day I clean the Winchestersβ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a... read more
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