The Aviator's Wife

A Novel

By: Melanie Benjamin

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

©2013 Melanie Benjamin (P)2013 Random House Audio

Engaging Story, a little padded

Any additional comments?

I learned a lot I never knew about Charles and Anne Lindbergh. I understand that it is more about their marriage than the heroics, but the author seemed to really drag out the ruminations. I ended up playing it on 1 1/4 speed.

Interesting Story

If you could rename The Aviator's Wife, what would you call it?

Becoming a Stronger Woman

Any additional comments?

This book is very interesting. My book club really liked it, and I suggest it for other book clubs as well. It will allow for good discussions about what makes a woman strong.

An Awesome Read

My husband and I flew for years., for recreation

Can't imagine what Ann L. had to put up with.

NOT JUST FOR WOMEN ONLY!

This book started off rather slow at first - more feeling descriptions than actual plot, but then it takes off like the Lindberghs' plane, soaring to amazing twists and turns in this very realistic diary of a woman, very much infatuated with her hero husband, yet having very poor self-esteem and easily controlled by her larger than life husband. By the time the children are born, it is impossible to stop listening to the narrator, whose voice can mimic a young woman, men, children and an old woman very believably well. I would recommend this book mostly to women. It causes you to hunger for more investigation of the Lindbergh family, especially after learning many truths about this family never known before. I highly recommend this book! My husband didn't care for it at first, but was sucked into the plots without complaint later in the book! Amazing!

An absorbing story

What made the experience of listening to The Aviator's Wife the most enjoyable?

I felt like I was getting a whole new perspective of the era and the people involved. I learned many facts about Lindberg and Anne that I was totally unaware from previous reading material.

Which character – as performed by Lorna Raver – was your favorite?

Anne

Any additional comments?

It was easy to understand her fear and dislike of the media.

Really passion from star till end.

Where does The Aviator's Wife rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Best of all.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Aviator's Wife?

The moment she has taken her own appartment.

What does Lorna Raver bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Warmth of voice

Who was the most memorable character of The Aviator's Wife and why?

The aviators wife

Any additional comments?

It was like of she was having à conversation with me. All feelings were so truely expressed.

A great listen!

A captivating look at the life of Ann Morrow Lindberg. I really enjoyed book the story & it’s presentation.

Sensationalist fabrication - pulp fiction

Hidden down in the Author's Notes you will see the disclaimer that she "imagined" and thus MADE UP about 90% if this book. That this was sold and marketed as "Historical Fiction" is really so dishonest......good historical fiction (think Philippa Gregory) takes a scaffold of historically accurate information, then weaves some creative liberty to flesh out the story.
This book took a few small slivers of fact (like the names), and wove an entirely fictional picture, using real names to make it appear to be accurate. Taken a face value, it was an interesting story, and if you had NEVER read anything accurate about these people, it could have been entertaining. However, this book was not just riddled with inaccuracies, but saturated. Anne Morrow Lindbergh NEVER saw any letters written by Lindbergh to Brigette, the German woman with whom he had three children. The children respected their mother's wishes and did not make their relationship to Lindbergh public until AFTER the death of their mother. Some accounts say that although they knew their father's name, the letters were only discovered after their mother's death while going through her effects. In any event, the children did not publicly disclose their father's name until 2001, and DNA did not establish it as fact until 2003. Anne and Brigette BOTH died in 2001, Anne had a number of strokes in the years prior to her death, and also had Azheimers. She lived in seclusion with her daughter, Reeve, for several years prior to her death in February 2001. Thus, she never saw ANY letters from Charles to any of the three German women with whom he had children, and while some reports indicate Anne may have had suspicions that something was amiss in her marriage, she NEVER knew about the secret life her husband was living. Please read Reeve's book written about her mother. No More Words. That, and other accurate books, will give you a much better idea of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. This book, the Aviator's Wife, is merely pulp fiction, filled with salacious details and conversations invented from Benjamin's imagination. Charles insatiable sexual drive on their wedding night?! REALLY??!! And Benjamin knew this how?? Anne's five year old son congratulating his mother on how she responded to a reporter, "Oh, you handled that very well.".....sure, exactly how a five year old might speak. Anne is presented in this book as an intelligent, but weak woman who deferred meekly to her husband. In truth, she was a strong woman of many accomplishments. The elder sister, Elizabeth, was NOT a lesbian, but rather married to Aubrey Neil Morgan. Only 30 when she died, Elizabeth had suffered from heart disease, and she was unable to recover from pneumonia. Aubrey Morgan then married the youngest sister, Constance and they had four children.
Additionally, this book totally avoided the issues that had such an impact on the Lindbergh family......eugenics, Nazi Germany, and many more. Anne wrote personal diaries throughout her lifetime.... a book written with those as source material would be a good book!
I love a good work of fiction......this was not it. Two stars for the narrator because she made her way through this script.

Very enjoyable

I love the mix of historical non fiction and fiction! And it’s a great story and makes you want to keep reading to see what happens next. Anne is a very relatable and lovable character and I was on her side the whole time.

I loved this book and the narrator

Lorna Raver was a perfect fit for this book. The story was beautifully put together and touched on every emotion. With Lorna's voice I felt as if I was hearing the story directly from Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Well done!