Katharine, the Wright Sister - by Tracey Enerson Wood

About the Book

"Everyone knows of Orville and Wilbur, the famous Wright brothers who invented and piloted the first powered airplane. But how many have heard of their sister Katharine, a vital member of the team? It was Katharine kept the family businesses afloat, Katharine who secured financial backers for the project, Katharine who marketed their invention worldwide. While the brothers were brilliant inventors and builders, Katharine was the glue that held their family and their business together. As important as she was to the Wright family, she has often been forgotten in the history books. No longer. THE WRIGHT SISTER will immerse you in the drama and excitement of Wilbur and Orville's first flights while simultaneously illuminating Katharine's work behind the scenes, recounting the deep sibling bond that tied the three together until tragedy ultimately wrenched their family apart"--

Book Synopsis

A "stirring tribute to an unsung trailblazer" and "a gripping tale of perseverance." --Publishers Weekly

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 siblings made a pact: 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.

Review Quotes

"Wood perfectly captures turn-of-the-century innovation, invention, and progress...her book will delight fans of historical fiction featuring a strong female protagonist." -- Booklist

"Wood's charming latest (after The President's Wife) highlights the contributions Katharine Wright (1874-1929) made to her brothers' innovations in aviation...[T]he lengthy story breezes by with heart and verve. Well-researched depictions of historical events and immersive period details round out this stirring tribute to an unsung trailblazer. It's a gripping tale of perseverance. " -- Publishers Weekly

"Wood's narrative provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of three clever, hardworking inventors, and a sensitive emotional exploration of one woman's quest to support her brothers--and later to soar on her own. Readers will be swept away by Wood's vivid depictions of early flight, and inspired by Katharine's dedication to stay true to both her brothers and herself." -- Shelf Awareness

"Tracey Enerson Wood has brilliantly grasped the reader's imagination and curiosity in the telling of Katharine's emotional and intellectual relationships with her brothers, Wilbur and Orville. Not commonly understood is the integral role she played, not only in their initial success of designing and flying the first powered airplane on December 17, 1903, but equally as important, she had the business acumen necessary to navigate the publicity and notoriety which immediately engulfed the siblings after their historical flight...Katharine had the tenacity to ensure and defend their place in history when challenged.

Ms Wood educates the unsuspecting reader of this historical period in America's life through her unique style of storytelling...told through the individual perspectives of Wilbur, Orville and Katharine. It is at once, a depiction of family, and the spirit of collectively following one's intellectual passion, often resulting in personal sacrifice of one's self.

Katharine, the Wright Sister, literally fills a void in my personal aviation library of the beginning of flight that I did not realize was missing." -- Patricia A. Denkler, the first woman to land a jet on an aircraft carrier

"Exciting and revealing...a wonderful, captivating, enlightening read about a woman who was a force of nature we all should quietly thank every time we travel by air. If you've ever been a pilot or a passenger on a plane, you owe it to yourself to read this amazing story." -- Jeffrey Blount, award-winning author of Mr. Jimmy from Around the Way

"Fans of the unsung heroines of American history will love Tracey Enerson Wood's latest triumph. Katharine, the Wright Sister kept me turning pages late into the night with its keen eye for family relationships and women's roles in them. This novel is a tribute to every woman who changed the world of science and technology and was erased from the pages of history." -- Jennifer Coburn, author of Cradles of the Reich