Sophie Blanchard makes her ascent in Milan on 15 August 1811 in the presence of the imperial and royal highness, to mark the 42nd birthday of Napoleon.
On land, Sophie Blanchard was a timid, anxious woman who could hardly stand the noise and commotion of 18th century Paris. But after her first flight in a hot-air balloon, she was hooked, and would spend the rest of her life chasing the peace and freedom she found hundreds of feet in the air. The first woman in the world to fly solo in a hot-air balloon, she became so famous for her skill and daring in the sky that even Napoleon took notice, and tried to recruit her for a particularly unusual military maneuver.
Her death in 1819 shook the continent, but her life story has been revived by our guest, Sharon Wright, in her new book, Balloonomania Belles: Daredevil Divas who First Took to the Sky.
Sharon Wright is a British author, journalist and playwright. She was born in Yorkshire and lives in South West London. She has worked as a writer, editor and columnist for leading magazines, newspapers and websites including the BBC, The Guardian, Daily Express, Disney, Glamour and Red. She is also the author of critically acclaimed plays performed in Yorkshire and London. Her first book Balloonomania Belles: Daredevil Divas Who First Took To The Sky was serialized in the Mail on Sunday and received widespread coverage, including on BBC Woman’s Hour and in the New York Post. Her new book on the Brontës will be published in summer 2019.
Music featured in this episode included
Haydn Sonata in B minor, HOB XVI:32 – Movements I-III performed by Amanda Setlik Wilson
Beethoven’s “Langsam und Sehnsuchtvoll” performed by Amanda Setlik Wilson
Chopin’s “Waltz In A Minor” Op 34 No 2 performed by Nico de Napoli
Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Op. 47 performed by Nico de Napoli
The post THE AERONAUT Sophie Blanchard appeared first on What'shername.
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THE ABOLITIONIST Ellen Garrison
THE BYZANTINE Irene of Athens
THE BUTTERFLY IN THE SUN Mata Hari
THE COUNTERFEIT COUNTESS Janina Mehlberg
THE VOYAGER Hannah Masury Howe
THE SOLID CITIZEN Frances Perkins
THE EQUESTRIAN Anna Sewell
THE GUNG-HO ORIGINAL Helen Foster Snow
CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN Selma Lagerlöf
THE WILD CHILD Alice Roosevelt
THE BOSTON BRAHMIN Ethel Gibson Allen
THE BLOOD COUNTESS Elizabeth Báthory
THE MONGOL KHATUN Genghis Khan's Daughters
THE QUEEN OF HAITI Marie-Louise Christophe
THE ANTI-FASCIST Gerda Taro
THE CLEANING LADY Seraphine of Senlis
THE WESTERN WOMAN Rattlesnake Kate Slaughterback
THE WOMAN KING Hatshepsut
THE PUNA HELE Mary Kawena Puku'i
THE ACCUSED Clara Ford
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