The Wright Sister

May 15, 2020
The latest from Dann (Sweet & Crazy, 2003) is an epistolary novel about the brilliant but overshadowed Katharine Wright, the sister of aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville. After her mother's early death, Katharine, only 14 years old, takes on the woman-of-the-house role. While she throws herself into her domestic duties, she also throws herself into her studies, becoming an early feminist and suffragette. When Wilbur dies, Katharine steps in to take care of Orville, who is becoming increasingly reclusive. When Katharine becomes engaged to a mutual friend, Orville is filled with anger. The novel begins on November 21, 1926, with an entry in Katharine's diary revealing that she is about to marry Harry Haskell at age 52. Through journal entries and letters to Orville, readers get a glimpse into what Katharine may have been thinking throughout her final years. Dann does an amazing job of transporting readers in time by imagining Katharine's joy, her devotion to Orville, and the pain she feels from their one-sided correspondence. Karen Harper fans will enjoy The Wright Sister immensely.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

June 8, 2020
In this tepid story, Dann (Starfish) gives voice to Katharine Wright, younger sister to the famous airplane inventors, Orville and Wilbur. In November 1926, the 52-year-old begins a “marriage diary” after she sets up house in Missouri with widower Harry Haskell, a journalist for the Kansas City Star. Her biggest dilemma as a newlywed concerns Orv, her emotionally dependent brother, who refuses to accept her marriage and ignores her letters and phone calls. In her diary, she recounts how she was 14 when her mother died, and her overbearing minister father instructed her to take care of him and her older brothers. Later, she supported her brothers’ tinkering and encouraged their visions of a flying machine so much that rumors circulated that she contributed much more to their invention than they acknowledged. In 1926, Katharine refused to give a Star reporter an interview about this, yet she confides the truth in her diary. While Katharine’s feelings for Harry are palpably real, her other emotions—about what else she wants from her new situation in Kansas City and why she’s desperate to make peace with a disagreeable sibling—remain murky. The seeds of a lovely story are here, but Dann fails to nurture them. Agent: Malaga Baldi, Malaga Baldi Literary Agency.

July 1, 2020

Dann's (Mermaids) new book follows Katharine Wright, sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright, who finally marries at 52 and leaves Ohio for Kansas City, MO, where her husband is a reporter for the local newspaper. This move and marriage shatter her relationship with her brother, yet she still chooses to begin a one-way correspondence with Orville. Well educated, sociable, a suffragist, and a feminist, Katharine begins to blossom in her new world. But she can't help worrying about the life and people she left behind and the secrets that are still haunting her family. Dann focuses on the quiet evolution of a woman as told entirely through her letters to her brother Orv and her personal "marriage diary." Although it is set in the 1920s, there is very little in-depth historical detail within the narrative. Rather, it is entirely character-driven and is all about Katharine--her relationships, her sexuality, her views of the world, and her actions and thoughts. VERDICT Readers who adore the epistolary format or love character-driven stories with little action will want to put this on their to-read list.--Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO

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