The Invention of Wings
Sue Monk Kidd, author of the bestselling novel The Secret Life of Bees, is coming to Annapolis.
She’s selling and signing her newest book, The Invention of Wings, not at familiar book haunts but at Sam’s Club, a newcomer in author appearances.
Released in hardback this week, The Invention of Wings is a tale of two young women growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1800s. Sarah is the well-to-do daughter of a respected judge, while Hetty ‘Handful’ is Sarah’s 11th birthday present, her personal slave of the same age.
Invention follows the lives of the two girls as they grow up in the deep South, both smart and strong-willed, one black and one white, one master and one servant. Their friendship and allegiance foster the adults they become. Of course, along the way there are many challenges and much drama that keep the reader riveted. You hope for the best but expect the worst. The book is educational and heartfelt, with Hetty’s character adding perspective.
Kidd based her book on the real lives of Charleston sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimke, two of the country’s first female abolitionists and women’s rights activists.
Already chosen for inclusion in Oprah’s Book Club, The Invention of Wings is a page-turner. You’ll be transported, though you may not always like where you visit.
Sunday, January 12, 1-3pm at Sam’s Club, Annapolis: 410-573-1112.