The Little Balloonist - Hardcover

Donn, Linda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525949283 ISBN 13: 9780525949282

Publisher: Dutton Adult, 2006

Synopsis

A literary love story inspired by first woman pilot Sophie Blanchard traces her hydrogen balloon journey from the humble seaside village of La Saliere to the battlefields and court of Napoleon, where she garners fame and hides the pain of her loveless arranged marriage. A first novel by the author of The Roosevelt Cousins. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

LINDA DONN is the author of two works of nonfiction, The Roosevelt Cousins and Freud and Jung.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Linda Donn s The Roosevelt Cousins:
"[A] powerful testament to their family, its character and its conviction."
JONATHAN YARDLEY, THE WASHINGTON POST

"Elegant writing, psychological insight, and useful photographs make for absorbing reading. Highly recommended."
LIBRARY JOURNAL

Reviews

Adult/High School Donn brings a little-known historical figure to life in her first work of fiction. Growing up in post-revolutionary France, Sophie Armant marries Jean-Pierre Blanchard, one of the pioneers of manned hot-air balloons. Afraid and awkward on the ground, Sophie finds she is in her natural element when in the air, and she is the first known woman to have flown on her own. After her husband's death, she becomes Napoleon Bonaparte's official balloonist. The author uses the basic facts of Blanchard's life to weave a captivating story of a courageous woman who wins the love of two men one, her childhood sweetheart, and the other, Napoleon himself as well as the appreciation of a country crying out for hope in turbulent political times. The novel provides glimpses into Napoleon and Josephine's stormy marriage and into the lives of various personalities of the day, including Goethe and Daguerre. The story flows gracefully, but Donn chooses every word of dialogue and description deliberately. The spare language, combined with an abundance of French names and locations, may confuse readers who are not familiar with France's history during the early 19th century. A handful of etchings, reproduced primarily with permission from the Smithsonian, nicely complements the history of ballooning at the turn of the century, and Donn's note at the end allows readers to distinguish fact from fiction within the book. Kim Dare, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Set in Napoleonic France, Donn's whimsical first novel (after her nonfiction book Freud and Jung) charts the course of Sophie Armant Blanchard, one of the world's first female aeronauts. The author weaves fact with a fairy tale touch in this historical romance, which follows Napoleon's rise to power as it celebrates Sophie's stratospheric ascents. At 16, her marriage to Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a much older, wealthy balloonist, lifts her from poverty but rends her from her childhood sweetheart, André Giroux. Sophie convinces Jean-Pierre to let her fly with him as a publicity stunt and finds she revels in flight—where her husband feels mostly fear. Her celebrity quickly eclipses his, and when the newspapers announce her first solo flight, she comes to Napoleon's attention for her courage and delicate beauty. Jean-Pierre dies of a stroke, and Sophie, who has clung to memories of André (now a noted faith healer) throughout her loveless 15-year marriage, waits for her beloved's return while she fends off Napoleon's amorous advances. Before her tragic end, Sophie enjoys a joyful reunion with André and an appointment as the empire's official balloonist. As pretty and slight as its heroine, Donn's novel breezes gently across her remarkable life.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tackling the historical fiction genre isn't the easiest opening salvo for a first novelist, but Donn rises to the occasion admirably. She bases her debut on the adventurous life of an actual historical figure, Madame Sophie Blanchard, who, during the Napoleonic era in France, became a famous balloonist. With a simple, straightforward prose style, the author tells the story of Madame Blanchard's involvement in the field of balloon ascension--which transpired through her husband's abiding interest--but also tells a story of sustained love. Although betrothed at a young age to the man she would indeed marry, and although catching the eye of Emperor Napoleon himself when her renown was spreading, she nonetheless harbored until the day she died her love for the man with whom she was a friend since childhood. An interesting take on an interesting period. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Adult
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525949283
• ISBN 13: 9780525949282
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224