The Wright Sister: A Novel

by Patty Dann

Overview

> “[An] epistolary page-turner chronicles a woman taking flight past fifty . . . sexual awakening, early feminism, and the unbreakable bonds of filial love.” —Sally Koslow, author of Another Side of Paradise and The Late, Lamented Molly Marx

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the world’s first airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, establishing the Wright Brothers as world-renowned pioneers of flight. Known to fewer people was their whip-smart sister Katharine, a suffragette and early feminist.

After Wilbur passed away, Katharine lived with and took care of her reclusive brother Orville. But when Katharine became engaged to their mutual friend, Harry Haskell, Orville felt abandoned and betrayed. He refused to attend the wedding or speak to Katharine or Harry. As the years went on, the siblings grew further and further apart.

In The Wright Sister, Patty Dann wonderfully imagines the blossoming of Katharine, revealed in her “Marriage Diary”—in which she emerges as a vibrant, intellectually and socially engaged, sexually active woman coming into her own—and her one-sided correspondence with her estranged brother as she hopes to repair their relationship. Even though she pictures “Orv” throwing her letters away, Katharine cannot contain her love of married life, her strong advocacy of the suffragette cause, or her abiding affection for her stubborn sibling as she fondly recalls their shared life.

An inspiring chronicle of feminism, family, and forgiveness, The Wright Sister is an unforgettable portrait of a woman, a sister of inventors, who found a way to reinvent herself.

“[A] brilliant novel whose characters are now stored in my heart like favorite, absent friends.” —Elinor Lipman, author of Good Riddance and On Turpentine Lane

“Dann does an amazing job of transporting readers in time.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062993120
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	221
Sales rank:	23,949
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Patty Dann's novels have been translated into French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. Her novel Mermaids was made into a movie starring Cher, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci. Dann is also the author of The Butterfly Hours: Transforming Memories into Memoir, The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss, and The Baby Boat: A Memoir of Adoption. Dann's articles have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, O, The Oprah Magazine, and numerous other publications. She teaches writing workshops at the West Side YMCA in New York. Dann is married to journalist Michael Hill and has one son and two stepsons.

Patty Dann's novels have been translated into French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. Her novel Mermaids was made into a movie starring Cher, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci. Dann is also the author of The Butterfly Hours: Transforming Memories into Memoir, The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss, and The Baby Boat: A Memoir of Adoption. Dann's articles have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, O, The Oprah Magazine, and numerous other publications. She teaches writing workshops at the West Side YMCA in New York. Dann is married to journalist Michael Hill and has one son and two stepsons.

Editorial Reviews

06/08/2020

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. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

“The Wright Sister is a marvel—a perfect, very dear and brilliant novel whose characters are now stored in my heart like favorite, absent friends. Long live the remarkable Katharine Wright, her famous brothers, and author Patty Dann, who brought them back to life for this gobsmacked, grateful reader.”
— Elinor Lipman, author of Good Riddance and On Turpentine Lane

"No longer hidden by history, the wind beneath Wilbur and Orville’s wings—their brainy sibling Katharine—soars in The Wright Sister. Patty Dann’s cunning epistolary page-turner chronicles a woman taking flight past fifty while it reflects on sexual awakening, early feminism, and the unbreakable bonds of filial love.  Immensely readable!" — Sally Koslow, author of Another Side of Paradise and the international best-seller, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx

"From the first sentence to the last Patty Dann captures the voice of Katharine Wright with uncanny verisimilitude. Poignant." — Sheila Kohler, author of Once We Were Sisters and Open Secrets

"Dann does an amazing job of transporting readers in time by imaging Katharine's joy, her devotion to Orville, and the pain she feels from their one-sided correspondence." — Booklist

From the Publisher

"Dann does an amazing job of transporting readers in time by imaging Katharine's joy, her devotion to Orville, and the pain she feels from their one-sided correspondence."

Booklist

"From the first sentence to the last Patty Dann captures the voice of Katharine Wright with uncanny verisimilitude. Poignant."

Sheila Kohler

"No longer hidden by history, the wind beneath Wilbur and Orville’s wings—their brainy sibling Katharine—soars in The Wright Sister. Patty Dann’s cunning epistolary page-turner chronicles a woman taking flight past fifty while it reflects on sexual awakening, early feminism, and the unbreakable bonds of filial love.  Immensely readable!"

Sally Koslow

“The Wright Sister is a marvel—a perfect, very dear and brilliant novel whose characters are now stored in my heart like favorite, absent friends. Long live the remarkable Katharine Wright, her famous brothers, and author Patty Dann, who brought them back to life for this gobsmacked, grateful reader.”

Elinor Lipman

"Dann does an amazing job of transporting readers in time by imaging Katharine's joy, her devotion to Orville, and the pain she feels from their one-sided correspondence."

Booklist

07/01/2020

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

Library Journal