
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Kim Mai Guest
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By:
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Melanie Benjamin
About this listen
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.
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Critic reviews
“Benjamin handles the era of mid-nineteenth-century America like a native, telling a walloping good story about a tiny person with the soul of a giant. The lovely Lavinia Bump once again comes alive, and we’re all the richer because of it.” (Ellen Bryson, author of The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno)
“Vinnie Bump is one of the most engaging characters to come along in a while. Nineteenth-century women had few options; Vinnie had fewer yet. Melanie Benjamin renders her deeply human in a no-nonsense Olive Kitteridge sort of way. Readers will not soon forget her. I know I won’t.” (Johanna Moran, author of The Wives of Henry Oades)
“Lavinia Warren was only thirty-two inches tall, but in Melanie Benjamin’s The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb she soars above the tumult of Gilded Age America. Benjamin makes her a woman of courage and refinement with an itch for adventure and ambitions that far outstrip her size. I enjoyed every minute I spent with Vinnie in this exuberant, absorbing, elegantly written novel.” (Carol Wallace, author of Leaving Van Gogh)
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Story
Spain, 1959. Slim Hawks Hayward likes to think she doesn’t get jealous. But when her dear friend Lauren “Betty” Bacall learns that Papa Hemingway has come to watch the bullfights and insists that Slim make introductions, she can’t help feeling protective. Slim has known Papa for years. He always makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the room—even when his wife is standing right beside him. Truth be told, Slim could have learned to love him all those years ago, in the streets of Havana or the mountains of the American West.
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Slim tale
- By L. Wroten on 01-20-20
By: Melanie Benjamin
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The Aviator's Wife
- A Novel
- By: Melanie Benjamin
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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.
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The Megalomaniac's Wife
- By Audrey on 01-19-13
By: Melanie Benjamin
Enjoyable!
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Amazing
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A Tad Dull
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Her suggestion that her relationship with PT Barnum was among the most meaningful relationships of her life was well developed. More recently I had read a number of emotionally heavy stories... Constellation of Vital Phenomena and Cutting for Stone, so I was looking for something a little lighter and with some Americana in its tone so it definitely hit the spot. Well written, and satisfying, the Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is a good listen/read.
Miniature woman larger than life
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The performance (narration was very good).
Interesting, but tragic.
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Small people big impact!
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What made the experience of listening to The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb the most enjoyable?
The narrator did a great job of portraying the character's feelings and viewpoint.How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
I think it should have been fictionalized more. There were whole sections of the character's life that weren't all that interesting, but since the author was basing it on a real person, we were stuck with that. Maybe the book should have just been shorter and not tried to cover her whole life.What does Kim Mai Guest bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
She did a very good job portraying emotions and views of the various charactersWho was the most memorable character of The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb and why?
Mrs Tom Thumb is the one you get to know the most, as everything is seen through her eyes. She did have an amazing life.Truth wasn't stranger than fiction
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Riveting read! 👍👍
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A Story of Courage
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Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumbs surprising biographies.
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