The Little Balloonist Hardback Book

A literary love story inspired by first woman pilot Sophie Blanchard traces her hydrogen balloon journey from the humble seaside village of La Saliere to the battlefields and court of Napoleon, where she garners fame and hides the pain of her loveless arranged marriage. A first novel by the author of The Roosevelt Cousins.  The author weaves fact with a fairy tale touch in this historical romance, which follows Napoleon’s rise to power as it celebrates Sophie’s stratospheric ascents. At 16, her marriage to Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a much older, wealthy balloonist, lifts her from poverty but rends her from her childhood sweetheart, André Giroux.  Age appropriate for 14 years and up. Hardback 224 pgs