Lady Icarus: Balloonmania and the Brief, Bold Life of Sophie Blanchard
by Deborah Noyes
A riveting middle-grade biography about Sophie Blanchard, the first woman to work as a professional aeronaut in France in the late 1700s, set against the thrilling backdrop of early flight.Before Amelia Earhart, there was Sophie Blanchard, the first woman to earn her living in the air. While no one knows the fate of Earhart, a terrified crowd of thousands looked on as French aeronaut Sophie Blanchard met her end in a tragic blaze of glory over the streets of Paris in 1819.But first, Blanchard made nearly 70 spectacular flights, survived a revolution, and become a court favorite of the emperor Napoleon (who gave her the title, "Aeronaut of the Official Festivals") and later of the King of France. Set against the backdrop of the history of flight, watch as Balloonmania-- a phenomenon that riveted all of Europe-- took hold and inspired a great many artists authors, and dreamers.This lively scrapbook-style biography with more than fifty black-and-white photos throughout, introduces a frightened, nervous girl who became a fearless legend in the skies.
Hardcover
English
Brand New
Author Biography
DEBORAH NOYES is the author of nonfiction and fiction for young readers and adults, including A Hopeful Heart, The Magician and the Spirits, Ten Days a Madwoman, and Tooth & Claw, called "accessible history for younger readers" in a starred review from School Library Journal. You can learn more at deborahnoyes.com and follow her on Twitter @DeborahNoyes.
Excerpt from Book
Marie Madeleine-Sophie Armant, later known as Sophie Blanchard, was born March 25, 1778, in the remote hamlet of Trois-Canons, near La Rochelle, on the sunny west coast of France. She would arrive in the world a few years before the first really big event of aeronautic history; but as the story goes, Sophie "met" her fu
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