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  • Published: 2 December 2013
  • ISBN: 9780345528681
  • Imprint: Bantam Dell
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $37.99

The Aviator's Wife

A Novel



New York Times bestseller! In the spirit of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank, acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin's (Alice I Have Been, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb) soaring triumph of a novel, which pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America's most extraordinary couples, is now available in paperback.

In the spirit of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife, acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
 
“The history [is] exhilarating. . . . The Aviator’s Wife soars.”—USA Today
 
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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 Charles’s 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 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.
 
Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.

Praise for The Aviator’s Wife
 
“Remarkable . . . The Aviator’s Wife succeeds [in] putting the reader inside Anne Lindbergh’s life with her famous husband.”—The Denver Post

“Anne Morrow Lindbergh narrates the story of the Lindberghs’ troubled marriage in all its triumph and tragedy.”—USA Today
 
“[This novel] will fascinate history buffs and surprise those who know of her only as ‘the aviator’s wife.’ ”—People
 
“It’s hard to quit reading this intimate historical fiction.”—The Dallas Morning News
 
“Fictional biography at its finest.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Utterly unforgettable.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“An intimate examination of the life and emotional mettle of Anne Morrow.”—The Washington Post

“A story of both triumph and pain that will take your breath away.”—Kate Alcott, author of The Dressmaker

  • Published: 2 December 2013
  • ISBN: 9780345528681
  • Imprint: Bantam Dell
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $37.99

About the author

Melanie Benjamin

Melanie Benjamin is a pseudonym for Melanie Hauser, who has written two contemporary novels. She is the author of the nationally bestselling Alice I Have Been and The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb. Benjamin lives in Chicago, where she is at work on her next historical novel.

Also by Melanie Benjamin

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Praise for The Aviator's Wife

  • "Will fascinate history buffs and surprise those who know of her only as 'the aviator's wife.'" --People (3.5 stars out of 4)
  • "Talented historical novelist Benjamin has a knack for picking intriguing, if somewhat obscure, women in history and making them utterly unforgettable....Enthralling....In true Benjamin style, it's Anne who captures us all in this exquisite fictional take on an iconic marriage." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
  • "The history is exhilarating.... The Aviator's Wife soars" --USA Today
  • "Rich, heartbreaking....At once sweeping and intimate, this is a riveting portrait of a woman both shaped by and separate from her relationship with her extraordinary husband." --Shelf Awareness