Bedside Table Books

The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin is a novel categorized as Fictionalized Memoir or Historical Fiction. This has become one of my favourite genres as so many superb novels have recently appeared on this shelf. I believe it may have all started with Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Or maybe it goes further back to The Red Tent, Memoirs of a Geisha, or Girl with a Pearl Earring. See what I mean? All excellent reads. I have just finished another in the genre by Tanis Rideout called Above All Things about George Mallory, and his wife Ruth, during his famed ascent of Mt. Everest in 1924. It does indeed deserve the exuberant praise of its cover blurbs! Here is a link to an essay by Tanis about the challenges with writing “Fact and Fiction”   When I finished reading Above All Things, I immediately wanted to learn more about the inspiration behind the tale. So … (back to the Aviator’s Wife!) in anticipation of reading about Anne Morrow Lindbergh in novel form, I have rallied a few non-fiction pieces to have at the ready when the cover closes.

First, here is a summary of The Aviator’s Wife courtesy of the author, Melanie Benjamin’s website:

“For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight. Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family. There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated 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. Hounded by adoring crowds and hunted by an insatiable press, Charles shields himself and his new bride from prying eyes, leaving Anne to feel her life falling back into the shadows. In the years that follow, despite her own major achievements—she becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States—Anne is viewed merely as the aviator’s 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, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Drawing on the rich history of the twentieth century—from the late twenties to the mid-sixties—and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, The Aviator’s Wife is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage—revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows. With stunning power and grace, Melanie Benjamin provides new insight into what made this remarkable relationship endure.”

Enticing stuff already! Some of the younger among us will not recall the actual headlines but may be more familiar instead with the beautiful book Gift From the Sea written by Anne Morrow Lindbergh herself. It is a classic and to be savoured, over and over.

Susan Hertog had significant access to Anne and the Lindbergh clan but has been accused of misrepresenting her writing goals – the family apparently believed she was researching for a study of feminism. When it was clarified that the interviews would be sources for a biography, the family balked. Apparently neither Anne, nor her husband Charles, wanted biographies researched or published during their lifetimes. Controversial as it is, this has been a well-reviewed Biography.

And finally, Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of Charles and Anne, has written her own version of events in Under A Wing. Goodreads describes it as: “At once an eloquent reminiscence and a slice of American history, Under a Wing is, at its core, a heartfelt tribute to an extraordinary family.” 

Are you a fan of this genre? Any recommendations, recent or classic, you’d like to share?

Happy reading!