Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Releasing Today: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. TOM THUMB by Melanie Benjamin


I'm so excited about today's new release -- I just have to share the news!



Pub. Date: July 2011
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Format: Hardcover , 448pp
ISBN-13: 9780385344159
ISBN: 0385344155

Description (from the publisher):
In her national bestseller Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin imagined the life of the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland. Now, in this jubilant new novel, Benjamin shines a dazzling spotlight on another fascinating female figure whose story has never fully been told: a woman who became a nineteenth century icon and inspiration—and whose most daunting limitation became her greatest strength.
 

“Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it.”


She was only two-foot eight-inches tall, but her legend reaches out to us more than a century later. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump was encouraged to live a life hidden away from the public. Instead, she reached out to the immortal impresario P. T. Barnum, married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, and transformed into the world’s most unexpected celebrity.

Here, in Vinnie’s singular and spirited voice, is her amazing adventure—from a showboat “freak” revue where she endured jeering mobs to her fateful meeting with the two men who would change her life: P. T. Barnum and Charles Stratton, AKA Tom Thumb. Their wedding would captivate the nation, preempt coverage of the Civil War, and usher them into the White House and the company of presidents and queens. But Vinnie’s fame would also endanger the person she prized most: her similarly-sized sister, Minnie, a gentle soul unable to escape the glare of Vinnie’s spotlight.
 
A barnstorming novel of the Gilded Age, and of a woman’s public triumphs and personal tragedies, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is the irresistible epic of a heroine who conquered the country with a heart as big as her dreams—and whose story will surely win over yours.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here to visit the author's website.

Click here to read a Q&A with the author.

9 comments:

Zibilee said...

I have also been waiting for this one to come out. It sounds pretty amazing and like something that I would really like. Hopefully you get to read it soon!

Sandra K321 said...

I'm about half way through it and so far I am really enjoying it.

Wall-to-wall books said...

Hey I read this!!! I liked it, very interesting!

Nay said...

Thanks for stopping by my almost 100 giveaway! Your entry is noted:)

PS: I want to read this one, too!

Beth(bookaholicmom) said...

This should be an interesting read. I'll have to keep my eye out for this.

bermudaonion said...

I just bought it when I was out!

nfmgirl said...

I have this one sitting on my shelf waiting TBR. It looks interesting!

Mystica said...

Looks interesting!

Anonymous said...

Ms. Benjamin is giving us stories of very special women. I hope she continues to use her talent to bring us the lives of more women whose stories deserve to be told.