The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

by Melanie Benjamin

Kim Mai Guest (Narrator)

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

• ISBN10: 161707781X
• ISBN13: 9781617077814
• Publish Date: 26 July 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Findaway World
• Duration: 15 hours
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

A few years ago I read Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin which was a behind the scenes fictional look at the life Alice Liddell and Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). I enjoyed the novel and came across Melanie’s second book, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb around the holidays that same year and acquired it via some gift cards I had received. And then it sat collecting dust on my shelf and maybe it should have stayed there.

The Best Thing About
The Autobiography Of Mrs. Tom Thumb

The best thing about The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb can be summed up in one word…Lavinia. This is the given name of the real Mrs. Tom Thumb. Lavinia was the heart and soul of this novel. Her quick wit and humor poured off the page. When she was in the middle of the action, the scenes sung and sped by. I wanted to sit down have coffee with Ms. Bump for a couple of hours. I’m sure her biography, which is sadly incomplete, is fascinating.

The Worst Thing About
The Autobiography Of Mrs. Tom Thumb

The book is slow and plodding. It’s probably the most solid example of a book that tells you what happens and doesn’t show you. There are these brief snapshots of action (escaping from the southern states at the outbreak of the Civil War, a fire in Milwaukee), but the rest of the story is just Lavinia telling you, “I decided to do this.” or “I decided to do that.” It doesn’t take much for Lavinia to make up mind and take action on ANY THING (well, there is one thing, but I don’t want to spoil that!) and she just sets out and does what she sets her mind to.

As a result, all the conflict in the story is not driven from internal character stories, but from external sources that are not people related. (Lavinia, despite her size, steamrolls over people when she wants to get something done.) Due to the time period, it takes a long time for events to happen because travel is slow, news travels slows, everything happens sooooo sloooowly.


Another #ShelfLove Book Off My Shelf
The second best thing about The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is that it means another #ShelfLove book is off my shelf. And while the novel wasn’t the action packed book I was hoping for after reading Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet and re-reading Water for Elephants, the moments of Lavinia taking charge of her life and speaking her mind will stay with me for a time.



This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

There is a woman behind every man. An amazing woman. That's what The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is about, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump, the wife of Tom Thumb.

Most know of Tom Thumb through a cute fairy tale or a Disney production, but not the real story. That is what I like about Melanie Benjamin's writing/novels; as she did in Alice I Have Been, she took a well known fairy tale and gave the reader an "inside scoop" to the truth behind it, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

Vinnie is determined to be remembered, instead of her name being covered up in weeds. Thus, she is recruited by a "cousin" to preform on a Mississippi Showboat; with the conditions and treatment being heinous, devoid of the luxury one may associate with show business. I found this very interesting, not only for its depiction but because of where they stopped; two of their dockings, Davenport, Iowa and Galena, Illinois, I live about thirty minutes from Davenport and have visited Galena several times, so I found their descriptions interesting, fiction or otherwise; although I was particularly peeked by Ulysses S. Grant's appearance in the book.

Eventually, after some lude conduct Vinne comes back home and again is signed, this time to no other than P.T. Barnum. Everything before was just a prelude. Here Vinnie's story really begins, she gains the fame she has craved for and finds a partner in Charles Srattan i.e. General Tom Thumb , even if it is only a business move. This is where I started getting annoyed with Vinnie, she became self-centered and a little thoughtless always keeping her eye on the prize, by using people to further her career. There is nothing wrong with wanting to better yourself, but it did make me lose a little respect for her.

But there is one person she would do anything for, not her husband but her little sister Minnie the only sibling who is over the same height as she. Vinnie is an over-protective sister, shielding her from all the evil in the world and giving Minnie (almost) anything her heart desires.

By almost I mean a baby. After she and Charles marry, the world awaits a child from the dwarfed couple. Despite Vinnie inability to conceive Barnum creates a baby Stratton, replacing it each time the baby got too big. Like giving up a puppy, it killed Charles' and Minnie's heart every time a baby was taken from them; and this longing was the reason for Minnie's undoing.

The last quater of the book was a whirlwind, so much was crunched in the the last 75 pages that I was reading as quickly as I could take it in. Lives are threaten and lost, with business going sour. The last twenty pages, including a mass fire at a Milwaukee Hotel had me engulfed with curiosity to the end of the book, which I found to be all too tragic, but the show must go on.