Lady Icarus : balloonomania and the brief, bold life of Sophie Blanchard

Author

Deborah Noyes

Call Number

• J 921 BLANCHARD (CEN, EAS)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York : Random House Studio, 2022.

Physical Description

xi,160 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Summary

"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"-- Provided by publisher

Contents

• A mysterious stranger
• The race is on
• Much astonished
• Wide-open sky
• Perfect bliss
• The naked aeronaut
• Castles and arias in the air
• A perilous crossing
• However dangerous or difficult
• Revolution!
• Star-spangled voyager
• A new emperor and the first family of the clouds
• Incomparable sensation!
• Storms and tempests
• Sinister presentiments