The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, Melanie Benjamin
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, Melanie Benjamin
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The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

Author: Melanie Benjamin

Narrator: Kim Mai Guest

Unabridged: 15 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/26/2011


Synopsis

In her national bestseller Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin imagined the life of the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland. Now, in this jubilant new novel, Benjamin shines a dazzling spotlight on another fascinating female figure whose story has never fully been told: a woman who became a nineteenth century icon and inspiration—and whose most daunting limitation became her greatest strength.
 
“Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it.”
 
She was only two-foot eight-inches tall, but her legend reaches out to us more than a century later. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump was encouraged to live a life hidden away from the public. Instead, she reached out to the immortal impresario P. T. Barnum, married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, and transformed into the world’s most unexpected celebrity.

Here, in Vinnie’s singular and spirited voice, is her amazing adventure—from a showboat “freak” revue where she endured jeering mobs to her fateful meeting with the two men who would change her life: P. T. Barnum and Charles Stratton, AKA Tom Thumb. Their wedding would captivate the nation, preempt coverage of the Civil War, and usher them into the White House and the company of presidents and queens. But Vinnie’s fame would also endanger the person she prized most: her similarly-sized sister, Minnie, a gentle soul unable to escape the glare of Vinnie’s spotlight.

A barnstorming novel of the Gilded Age, and of a woman’s public triumphs and personal tragedies, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is the irresistible epic of a heroine who conquered the country with a heart as big as her dreams—and whose story will surely win over yours.

About Melanie Benjamin

Melanie Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed historical novels Alice I Have Been, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and The Aviator's Wife. She lives in the Chicago area.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Heidi on January 03, 2018

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is a historical fiction based on the real life of Lavinia Bump Warren, an extraordinarily small person. Lavinia participated in P.T. Barnum’s museum, traveling acts and circus, becoming one of the most popular acts of her era. Her wedding to Charles Stratton, anoth......more

Goodreads review by Annette on August 14, 2020

At 32” no one expects anything from her and everyone wants to protect her. As much as she appreciates the protection and love of her family, she still wants something more from life. Coming from a small town, she craves the big world. With her intelligence and ambitious spirit, she goes on to become......more

Goodreads review by Carol on June 10, 2011

I love this book! I remember seeing a picture of Mrs. Tom Thumb, aka Mercy Lavina Warren Bump Stratton aka Vinnie, and wondering about her marriage. Was she happy? This was years ago. Then when I saw this book, I had to know as much as possible. From the first page I was hooked, even though the book......more

Goodreads review by Ckg on October 07, 2011

Good historical fiction implants the desire within the reader to learn the facts that surround the narrative. This book does not disappoint. I finished this book a couple of weeks back and have been researching P.T. Barnum and his Museum of Curiosities since I shelved the book. I was completely unaw......more

Goodreads review by Brian on May 08, 2011

If you flat out ask me, 'Do you like historical fiction?' I most likely will say no. However, after reading this book and thinking about it, I'd like to amend my answer to that question by saying that it depends on the topic. That being said, I've also come to a realization that I like books about c......more


Quotes

Advance praise for The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb
 
“Benjamin handles the era of mid-nineteenth-century America like a native, telling a walloping good story about a tiny person with the soul of a giant. The lovely Lavinia Bump once again comes alive, and we’re all the richer because of it.”—Ellen Bryson, author of The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno
 
“Vinnie Bump is one of the most engaging characters to come along in a while. Nineteenth-century women had few options; Vinnie had fewer yet. Melanie Benjamin renders her deeply human in a no-nonsense Olive Kitteridge sort of way. Readers will not soon forget her. I know I won’t.”—Johanna Moran, author of The Wives of Henry Oades
 
“Lavinia Warren was only thirty-two inches tall, but in Melanie Benjamin’s The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb she soars above the tumult of Gilded Age America. Benjamin makes her a woman of courage and refinement with an itch for adventure and ambitions that far outstrip her size. I enjoyed every minute I spent with Vinnie in this exuberant, absorbing, elegantly written novel.”—Carol Wallace, author of Leaving Van Gogh  
 
“By turns heart-rending and thrilling, this big-hearted book recounts a fictionalized life of this most extraordinary of women in prose that is lush and details that are meticulously researched. I loved this book.”—Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Ape House and Water for Elephants
 
“Melanie Benjamin’s striking novel about the diminutive Lavinia Warren Bump, one of P. T. Barnum’s ‘oddities,’ shows that love and desire, strength and ambition, come in all sizes. Mrs. Tom Thumb brings out the humanity in all of us.”—Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author of The Bride’s Home and Whiter Than Snow
 
“Melanie Benjamin has created a compelling heroine, whose dramatic and poignant story will capture the reader’s heart to the last page.”—Stephanie Cowell, author of Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet and Marrying Mozart