The Wright Sister

An "immensely readable" novel inspired by the life of Katharine Wright and her brother Orville, a tale of estrangement and enduring love.

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—in an unforgettable portrait of a woman, a sister of inventors who found a way to reinvent herself.