The Invention of Wings

I very much enjoyed reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd which is set in America's South during the first half of the nineteenth century.  The two main characters Sarah Grimké, daughter of a wealthy plantation family and Hetty (Handful) a slave-girl the same age as Sarah.  These characters narrate the story in alternate chapters.  Sarah grows to have an abhorrence of slavery and hopes her intelligence will allow her to have a career as a lawyer.  She later learns this is a "foolish" ambition as her purpose in life is to find a suitable husband and bear children.  She is presented with Hetty as her 11th birthday present and she is naively determined to have her freed.  Hetty is sheltered as much as possible by her defiant mother, Charlotte, until one day she learns in a brutal fashion her place in this society.  The story follows both Sarah and Hetty as they grow up.  Sarah is one of 11 children and she virtually raises her youngest sibling, Angelina (Nina).  Sarah and Nina become very close with common beliefs in the abolition of slavery.  It was very interesting to learn that this story was based on real people of the time, particularly sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimké who were renowned in their time for speaking out against slavery and for women's rights.  Recommended. 41/2/5