What Do We Know about the Hero’s Wife?

March is Women in history month.  Today I am sharing all about Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  Melanie Benjamin’s novel The Aviator’s Wife is a fictional account of her life.  When I was little I loved reading about women and their biographical stories.  What can we learn about Anne Lindbergh?

Synopsis: 

Anne’s story is told in two different story lines.  One is in 1974 where the family including Anne is on the way to take Charles Lindbergh to his final resting place.  She has a few questions that need answering by Charles before he dies.  Will the answers be satisfactory for her?  The other story line starts in the mid-1920s when an Ambassador’s daughter meets the colonel (Charles Lindbergh) that is famous all over the land.  She is the middle daughter and therefore not the one that is expected to marry first.  That honor was supposed to go to her sister Elizabeth, but she was not chosen by the famous Lindbergh.  What will life be life with him?

My Thoughts: 

I had wanted to read this novel for a while.  I initially did not realize that the subject matter would be Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  Ms. Benjamin gives the reader a front row seat for what her life might have been like.  You get to understand what it would have been like to be married to Charles Lindbergh.  Then also what happened during the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and how it affected the family. 

I liked this novel.  I would definitely read another of Ms. Benjamin’s novel.  What I found most interesting was the notes that are included at the end of the novel.  It gave me a different perspective on her writing style and what she the author was trying to convey through this novel.  She explored the question:  Did Anne know about Charles affairs?  What was it like for her to be married to a hero? 

Rating: 

4/5

Please visit Melanie Benjamin on her Facebook page, Twitter, and her Website.