The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd is a historical fiction novel set in the early 1800s. It revolves the life of Sarah Grimké, a white girl born into an aristocratic family in Charleston, South Carolina, and her black maid Hetty. The story starts in November of 1803, when Sarah’s mother gave the 10 year old slave Hetty to Sarah as her 11th birthday present. That day marked the start of Hetty’s lifelong struggle to break free from slavery and Sarah’s battle against slavery. In the deep south where slavery has been the way of life for decades, they faced isolation, betray, death threats, and other obstacles along their journey.

Most of the descriptions about the Grimké family and Sarah’s speeches were accurate. The author based a significant portion of the story on her research on letters, speeches, newspaper articles, and Sarah’s own writing. This book gives the readers an insight into the pre-Civil War American South. …show more content…
Hetty’s mother, mauma, told Hetty that once upon a time their African ancestors could fly. It was a story that Hetty never truly believed but always remembered: “There was a time in African the people could fly…Those skinny bones stuck out of my back...She patted them and said, ‘This all what left of your wings...but one day you gon get’em back’...It was later I saw what she meant” (Kidd 1). The book opened with a passage introducing the “wings” that Mauma described their ancestors had had. Seeking the “wings” has always been Hetty’s dream, though at times it is buried in the hardships of