Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd's latest, is a historical fiction novel that is right up my alley. Kidd tells the story of the real-life famous Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angela by creating a fictionalized account of their early lives and the major contributions both of them towards abolition of slaves and the major stride forward they took in showing that women are just as capable, if not more, than men who are attempting to get a message about abolition across. They are now considered two of the earliest women advocating equal rights for men and women.

Sarah Grimke, disappointed, perhaps even devastated when her father tells her she cannot become an attorney like her brother eventually, through the many terrible things she experiences in pre-Civil War Charleston, finds her place and purpose in life.

As a fifth grade teacher, we had an entire unit on Social Justice, trying to put a more positive spin on all the injustices that occurred in our country from its inception until the present. The Grimke sisters were included to attest to the fact that "one person can make a difference." As such, it was really exciting to me to learn more about the Grimke sisters.

Kidd alternated the telling of the story using both Sarah and Hetty (or Handful), the slave that was given to Sarah for a birthday gift when Sarah turned eleven as narrators. Sue Monk Kidd heard Hetty's voice even louder than Sarah's as she transferred the story from her brain to paper.

Even as a girl, Sarah knew that it wasn't right to own another person. While Sarah and Angelina really existed, and while Sarah did actually receive a slave as a gift when she was a girl, the character of Hetty is fictionalized. Her story is a compilation of slave stories and not just one slave's story.

The story evolves, following Sarah through her teen years and into adulthood. It is based on truth but much of it was fictionalized. As soon as I finished reading the book, I was determined to learn what was fact and what was fiction. Here's a little bit of what I found.

Fact

• Sarah really did want to be an attorney but that just wasn't possible for females at that time.
• Activist Lucretia Mott was a real activist.
• Sarah got Angelina to join her on her pursuit to try to convince the public of how horrible slavery was.
• Denmark Vesesy was a free African-American that was most probably involved in the 1822 slave rebellion in Charleston. 

Fiction

• Hetty and the rest of the Grimke slaves were based on many slave stories and were not actual people.
• Charlotte,  the Grimke mother, was a real person who tried to confirm to the norms of the time, but most of her character was fictional.

I love historical fiction. I love most historical fiction having to do with the years leading up to and including the Civil War. I love when a personality that I taught in fifth grade becomes the character in an adult novel. I love learning more.