Novel provides glimpse into life of Charles Lindbergh’s wife

The Aviator’s Wife is a fictionalized version of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s life with Charles Lindbergh directly following his solo flight to Paris in 1927, following which he became the most famous man in the world.

She and her striking, strong sister, Elizabeth, had gone down to Mexico to be with their father, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. It was Elizabeth whom everyone assumed would catch Lindy’s eye, but it was Anne to whom he offered a ride at 4:15 a.m., and she who discovered the enchantment of flight.

She returned to Smith for her last year while he went about the business of planning international flight. Back in New Jersey, she did hear from him, inviting her on a morning flight in one of the Guggenheim’s planes; the Spirit of St. Louis having gone to the Smithsonian

It was on this flight he taught her how to fly. Landing was difficult, because the plane had lost one of its wheels – it landed on its back.

He proposed as they returned to the embassy. Elizabeth, with whom Anne had had a lively, close relationship, was hurt and now offered her only  politeness.

Slowly Anne learns what is expected of her – which was to fullfill his wishes in every respect, as in “Try to have dinner on the table no later than 1800” and  ready exactly what he will wear.

Three or four years into their marriage, their two year old boy is stolen from their house in Hopewell, N.J., and – after Charles has followed every possible lead – is found dead in a nearby field. Charles lets his ashes fall over Long Island Sound.

They met with Amelia Earhart several times. Anne didnt like her much, and Charles told someone his wife was twice the pilot Earhart was.

Charles was so famous, received so many awards and gifts and prizes, was invited by so many heads of State, that they wore disguises if they went anywhere on their own.

Among the many places they went (more or less around the world – often with Anne as pilot) was  to the German Olympics in 1936, where Hitler gave Charles a medal, and  he and other nazis became pals of his, which seriously grated on American and British nerves as World War II began to loom. Kristalnacht was too much, however, and they left.

He continued his campaign to keep the U.S. out of the war, however, as well as becoming well-known and much disliked for his attitude toward Jews. Additionally, he spoke and wrote against entering the war against Germany and pursuaded her to do the same. 

They became as unpopular as they had been popular. They no longer walked on Long Island beaches, people followed them with such hatred; their old friends the Guggenheims stopped returning calls, and their unlisted number was besieged with hate calls.

When war came, Charles contacted all the airlines he had helped set up and the Pentagon as well.  There were no return calls. Smith College asked Anne to refrain from saying she was a graduate of theirs.

One day, Henry Ford called and asked Charles to oversee aviation operations and to aid in the building of bombers, B24s. He left for Detroit the next day. The letters between them did much to establish their old relationship.

After the war, now back east, the father of four became more of a family man and as people forgot about his anti-semitism, he got more airline-related jobs and also asked Anne to help him get his notebooks into book shape, as she was the writer of the family.

The  book that resulted won a Pulitzer prize; Jimmy Stewart played him in the movie; Life Magazine came visiting; President Eisenhower gave him a medal for his war work; and, sight unseen, he was given a contract for another book.

Then it was her turn. She went down to an island off the Florida coast and came back with My Gift From the Sea, which sold over a million copies.  He was away so much, she took an apartment in New York City and had an affair with a sympathetic doctor. She flew a plane alone and got back her self-confidence.

Leukemia hit him in his 70s, and that’s when she learned – from a sympathetic nurse – that he had several other families around the world and as many as seven other children. When she faced him with it, he said he hadn’t meant to hurt her.

In an afterword, the author tells her readers which of the incidents actually happed and which were the novelists’s choice. As she says, “I was interested in the emotional, the personal drama.”

And how well she did that! We are always in Anne’s head in this fascinating personality-filled book. The book has the feel of emotional honesty and in the end she is her own self – not the slave of this self-absorbed, famous man.

Book info:
The Aviator’s Wife
By Melanie Benjamin
Delacorte Press, $26

Posted by Rae Eastman on April 11, 2013. Filed under Arts and Entertainment,Columns,Movie Reviews,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry