A Pair of Wings

A Novel

De: Carole Hopson

Narrado por: Alaska Jackson

An airline captain crafts a riveting, adventurous novel inspired by the remarkable true life of pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman, a Black woman who learned to fly at the dawn of aviation and found freedom in the air

A few years after the Wright brothers’ first flight, Bessie was working the Texas cotton fields with her family when an airplane flew over their heads. It buzzed so low she thought she could catch it in her hands. Bessie was fearless. She knew there was freedom in those wings.

The daughter of a woman born into slavery, Bessie answers the call of the Great Migration. She moves to Chicago, where she wins the backing of two wealthy, powerful Black men—Robert Abbott, creator and publisher of the Chicago Defender, and Jesse Binga, the founder of Chicago’s first Black bank. Abbott becomes her mentor, while Binga becomes her lover. Her true first love, though, remains flying.

But in 1920, no one in the United States will train a Black woman to fly. So, twenty-eight-year-old Bessie learns to speak French and sets off for Europe. Two years ahead of Amelia Earhart, Bessie earns her pilot's license, and later she learns death-defying stunts from French and German dogfighting combat pilots.

While she finds no prejudice in the air, Bessie wrestles with other challenges on the ground. A plane crash nearly kills her, her brothers seem to be crumbling under the weight of Jim Crow, and, while grappling with tough truths about Binga, Bessie begins to wonder if the freedom she finds in the sky means she must otherwise fly solo.

With tenderness and mastery, Carole Hopson imagines the breathtaking moxie Bessie Coleman harnessed in order to lift herself out of poverty and become known as “Queen Bess.”

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

©2024 Carole Hopson (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

Named one of Essence's “Top 15 Book Picks For Summer 2024

“Hopson shines a welcome light on her indomitable and unsung heroine, and her technical knowledge enriches the many exhilarating aerial scenes.”—Publishers Weekly

“Hopson, a United Airlines captain, vividly evokes the experience of flight and does a commendable job illuminating Coleman’s struggles with self-doubt and isolation even as she becomes a media sensation. . . . Fans of women-focused and African American historical fiction will appreciate Hopson's meticulously researched take on the life of a pioneering figure in aviation history.”—Booklist

“Invigorating! A Pair of Wings is the inspiring, richly detailed American Great Migration story we’ve been missing. Carole Hopson writes heroine and pioneer Bessie Coleman as if she’s been living inside her head. I loved it.”—Crystal Smith Paul, author of Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?

Follow your dreams and passions and accomplish them

Bessie Colman's determination and tenacity to follow her dreams no matter what obstacles came her way. So inspiring to others to do the same, no matter what challenges you may face.

An incredible book! I will forever remember this book.

I loved the entire book and without Carole Hopson no one would know the incredible brave life of Bessie. One of the best reads/ listens ever!

great book

you don't know what you don't know! love this book. as a black man I love it

Amazing story! I had never heard of this trail blazing woman but so glad to have learned of her bravery and creative personality to accomplish her goals.

Wind beneath my wings

Outstanding story of dedication, loss and triumph! Very inspiring and educational! I look forward to researching more about Bessie’s story especially her time in Houston.