Author Melanie Benjamin to appear at Aspen Drive Library Jan. 16

Melanie Benjamin, bestselling author of "Alice I Have Been," will present her new book "The Aviator's Wife" on Wednesday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Aspen Drive Library, 701 Aspen Drive, Vernon Hills. This free event will be open to the public, but registration is required. Call (847) 362-2330 or visit webres.cooklib.org to register.

In Benjamin's first historical novel, "Alice I Have Been", we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole – and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling. A New York Times bestseller, Indie Next Pick and featured in "USA Today", "Entertainment Weekly" and "People Magazine", "Alice I Have Been" brilliantly blends fact and fiction that looks into the life of the real Alice; Alice Liddell Hargreaves that is. By combining her passion for history and biography, Benjamin found her niche writing historical fiction and concentrating on the “stories behind the stories.”

She continues that trend with her new novel "The Aviator's Wife" which tells the story of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Drawing on the rich history of the twentieth century – from the late twenties to the mid-sixties – and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, "The Aviator's Wife" is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage – revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows. With stunning power and grace, Melanie Benjamin provides new insight into what made this remarkable relationship endure.

PRAISE FOR "THE AVIATOR'S WIFE"

Library Journal says, “Benjamin's primary focus is on Anne's evolution from submissive helpmate into the author of the feminist classic "Gift From the Sea"…Well-researched and paced, this novel will certainly spark readers' interest in learning more about this famous couple.”

Kate Alcott, author of "The Dressmaker" says, “Vivid and mesmerizing, "The Aviator's Wife" takes us behind the scenes and into the heart of the woman who loved and married Charles Lindbergh. That was her destiny – a life that took her soaring into the skies and then plunged her to earth, a story of both triumph and pain that will take your breath away.”

Benjamin and her family still live in the Chicago area; when she's not writing, she's gardening, taking long walks, rooting for the Cubs--and reading, of course.

Books for signing will be available for purchase, courtesy of Lake Forest Bookstore.