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The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

By Melanie Benjamin
On Tour

By Melanie Benjamin
On Tour

By Melanie Benjamin
On Tour

By Melanie Benjamin
On Tour

By Melanie Benjamin
On Tour

Read by Kim Mai Guest

By Melanie Benjamin
On Tour

Read by Kim Mai Guest

Best Seller
Paperback $17.00

Apr 03, 2012 | ISBN 9780385344166

Ebook $9.99

Jul 26, 2011 | ISBN 9780345527578

Audiobook Download $22.50

Jul 26, 2011 | 900 Minutes

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    The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
    Paperback $17.00
    Apr 03, 2012 | ISBN 9780385344166

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    • Paperback $17.00

      Apr 03, 2012 | ISBN 9780385344166

      Buy from Other Retailers:

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    • Ebook

      Jul 26, 2011 | ISBN 9780345527578

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    About The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

    For anyone who loves the historical novels of Sara Gruen, Geraldine Brooks, and E. L. Doctorow, a barnstorming tale of an irrepressible, brawling, bawdy era and the remarkable woman who had the courage to match the unique spirit of America’s Gilded Age.

    She was only two feet, eight inches tall, but more than a century later, her legend reaches out to us. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Warren 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 became the world’s most unexpected celebrity. Vinnie’s wedding captivated the nation, preempted coverage of the Civil War, and even ushered her into the White House. But her fame also endangered 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, 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.
     
    Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.

    BONUS: This edition contains a timeline, an interview with Melanie Benjamin, and an excerpt from Melanie Benjamin’s Alice I Have Been.

    About The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

    For anyone who loves the historical novels of Sara Gruen, Geraldine Brooks, and E. L. Doctorow, a barnstorming tale of an irrepressible, brawling, bawdy era and the remarkable woman who had the courage to match the unique spirit of America’s Gilded Age.

    She was only two feet, eight inches tall, but more than a century later, her legend reaches out to us. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Warren 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 became the world’s most unexpected celebrity. Vinnie’s wedding captivated the nation, preempted coverage of the Civil War, and even ushered her into the White House. But her fame also endangered 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, 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.
     
    Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.

    BONUS: This edition contains a timeline, an interview with Melanie Benjamin, and an excerpt from Melanie Benjamin’s Alice I Have Been.

    About The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

    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.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

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    Listen to a sample from The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

    Also by Melanie Benjamin

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    The Children's Blizzard
    Mistress of the Ritz
    The Girls in the Picture
    The Aviator's Wife
    See all books by Melanie Benjamin

    Also by Melanie Benjamin

    California Golden
    The Children's Blizzard
    Mistress of the Ritz
    The Girls in the Picture
    The Aviator's Wife
    See all books by Melanie Benjamin

    Also by Melanie Benjamin

    California Golden
    The Children's Blizzard
    Mistress of the Ritz
    The Girls in the Picture
    The Aviator's Wife
    See all books by Melanie Benjamin

    About Melanie Benjamin

    Melanie Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard, Mistress of the Ritz, The Girls in the Picture, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, The Aviator’s Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and Alice I Have… More about Melanie Benjamin

    About Melanie Benjamin

    Melanie Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard, Mistress of the Ritz, The Girls in the Picture, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, The Aviator’s Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and Alice I Have… More about Melanie Benjamin

    About Melanie Benjamin

    Melanie Benjamin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Blizzard, Mistress of the Ritz, The Girls in the Picture, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, The Aviator’s Wife, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and Alice I Have… More about Melanie Benjamin

    Product Details

    Category: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $17.00
    Published by Bantam
    Apr 03, 2012 | 480 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780385344166

    Category: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $9.99
    Published by Delacorte Press
    Jul 26, 2011 | 448 Pages | ISBN 9780345527578

    Category: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $22.50
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jul 26, 2011 | 900 Minutes | ISBN 9780307713490
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    Praise

    “By turns heartrending and thrilling, this bighearted novel recounts the life of an extraordinary woman in lush, meticulously researched prose. I loved it!”—Sara Gruen
     
    “[Melanie Benjamin] knows how to combine research and readability. And she’s given Vinnie such dignity and courage . . . that her heroine commands attention from the first page.”—The Washington Post

    “Remarkable, soaring . . . a spellbinding tale . . . a fascinating story of triumph and tragedy and one person who refused to live a small life.”—BookPage
     
    “Melanie Benjamin enfolds the reader in the intimate world of Lavinia Warren Stratton, better known as Mrs. Tom Thumb, [whose] voice is unflinching. . . . That the characters have faults and regrets, as well as hope, adds to the veracity of the novel.”—The Denver Post
     
    “A narrative voice that is feisty, intelligent, brave, adventurous, and resourceful.”—The Boston Globe
     
    “Grabs you from the opening pages, providing hints of the absorbing and entertaining story to come . . . a delightful cavalcade of late nineteenth-century Americana.”—Library Journal

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