Charles Lindbergh – Book Journey

When Charles Lindbergh visited the Morrow home, everyone thought of the two sisters, surely the famous pilot would fall for the pretty well spoken Morrow sister Connie. To everyone’s surprise, Charles took a liking to the quieter more reserved of the two sisters, Anne who was home for the holidays from college.

Anne not only became the wife of Charles Lindbergh, but also the first licensed female glider pilot in the USA. She also becomes a mother, a mother of not only the sad and well-known story of the Lindbergh child kidnapping, but also went on to have 5 more children.

The Aviator’s Wife tells the Lindbergh story from Anne’s point of view. What was it like to be in the shadow of the man who everyone knew? What was it like to carry on as the happy Mrs. Lindbergh when Charles was away more than he was home and eventually the truth of where he was spending all of his time comes out in the end?

We chose The Aviator’s Wife as a book club read. Having grown up about 30 minutes from Charles Lindbergh’s childhood home, I honestly knew little of the man beyond the famous flights and the kidnapping and death of his first-born. This book seemed like an opportunity to learn a little more about Charles, but even more so, his wife, Anne.

I really enjoyed this read and learned much about the famous first family of the air. While this is a historical fiction read and some liberties are taken with Anne, the basic underline of the true story is there. I did not know about her pilot’s license, the other children, or the fact that she was also an author of several books, including editing Charles own book for him. Engaging. I was surprised by how little I really knew about the Lindbergh’s. I came out of this read with a lot of respect for Anne who had a hard role to play and from this read at least, did the best she could with the life she chose.

I plan to read more on this famous woman, including the book her daughter Reeve Lindbergh wrote, No More Words, which tells the story of her mother’s last years.