Book Review
Katherine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood
Historical Fiction | Fiction
We’ve all heard about the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur. But have you heard of their sister, Katherine? Orville and Wilbur may have won the race to the first sustained, controlled flight but they couldn’t have done it without their little sister.
One of the things I love about historical fiction is that it introduces you to bits of history and unique characters that have long remained hidden. I first learned about Katherine Wright while reading To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower (a cozy historical mystery featuring the Wright siblings.)
Katherine’s story immediately intrigued me, and I knew I wanted to learn more about this incredible woman who has been largely forgotten by history. Aviation history is something that fascinates me, in general, and so I was excited to see Tracey Enerson Wood tackling Katherine’s story.
The author’s latest novel, Katherine, the Wright Sister, follows the points of view of Katherine, Wilbur, and Orville as they strive to be the first in flight. The chapters are short and snappy, jumping from sibling to sibling, and show us the incredible ups and downs this family experienced as they threw everything into their passion for flying. While the book focuses on the years of trial and experimentation leading up to the successful Kitty Hawk flight, we also get an overall picture of their lives from teenagers to death.
Despite Katherine’s behind-the-scenes role in her brothers’ success, it’s clear that she sacrificed much to support Orville and Wilbur. Her dreams flew just as high as her brothers, and she poured much of her life into making their work a success.
When a novel is centered on real historical figures, it can be difficult to find the right balance between fact and fiction. With Katherine, the Wright Sister it’s clear that the author has done extensive research into the entire Wright family, the mechanics of flight, and intricate details about the Wright’s first aircraft. While a novel like this may be more accessible than non-fiction and thus introduce more readers to Katherine’s life, it did feel more fact-forward than story-driven.
I also struggled to differentiate between the voices of Katherine, Wilbur, and Orville. The chapters jumped between the three siblings and I often had to flip back to remember whose perspective I was reading. While I understand that with books like this, you want to keep as close to the facts as possible, as a novel, the lack of distinct voices meant that I sacrificed a deeper connection with the characters.
That being said, the final few pages of the book left me in tears. I think the novel was wrapped up well and gave us a clear picture of the sacrifices Katherine made for her brothers, as well as her driven and family-oriented personality.
Tracey Enerson Wood always does a fantastic job highlighting little-known women who changed history, and I love that she gives voice to their stories. If you’re looking for a novel featuring the Wright family and their hardworking sister, Katherine, add this one to your TBR!
Recommended for:
Readers interested in early aviation history and little-known, historical women
This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Advance copy of the book provided courtesy of the publisher, Sourcebooks. All opinions expressed are my own.
About the book:
(Form the publisher): She helped her brothers soar… but was the flight worth the fall?
It all started with two boys and a bicycle shop. Wilbur and Orville Wright, both unsuited to college and disinclined to leave home, jumped on the popular new fad of bicycle riding and opened a shop in Dayton, Ohio. Repairing and selling soon led to tinkering and building as the brothers offered improved models to their eager customers. Amid their success, a new dream began to take shape. Engineers across the world were puzzling over how to build a powered flying machine—and Wilbur and Orville wanted in on the challenge. But their younger sister, Katharine, knew they couldn’t do it without her. The three of them would solve the problem of human flight.
As her brothers obsessed over blueprints and risked life and limb testing new models on the sand beaches of North Carolina, Katharine became the mastermind behind the scenes of their inventions. She sourced materials, managed communications, and kept Wilbur and Orville focused on their goal—even when it seemed hopeless. And in 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled, sustained flight of humankind.
What followed was the kind of fame and fortune the Wrights had never imagined. The siblings traveled the world to demonstrate their invention, trained other pilots, and built new machines that could fly higher and farther. But at the height of their success, tragedy wrenched the Wright family apart… and forced Katharine to make an impossible choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
From internationally bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood, Katharine, the Wright Sister is an unforgettable novel that shines a spotlight on one of the most important and overlooked women in history, and the sacrifices she made so that others might fly.