About this book
An exclusive free sample chapter from THE INVENTION OF WINGS... From the celebrated author of the international bestseller THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES comes an extraordinary novel about two exceptional women. Sarah Grimké is the middle daughter. The one her mother calls difficult and her father calls remarkable. On Sarah's eleventh birthday, Hetty 'Handful' Grimké is taken from the slave quarters she shares with her mother, wrapped in lavender ribbons, and presented to Sarah as a gift. Sarah knows what she does next will unleash a world of trouble. She also knows that she cannot accept. And so, indeed, the trouble begins ... A powerful, sweeping novel, inspired by real events, and set in the American Deep South in the nineteenth century, THE INVENTION OF WINGS evokes a world of shocking contrasts, of beauty and ugliness, of righteous people living daily with cruelty they fail to recognise; and celebrates the power of friendship and sisterhood against all the odds.
Censorship history
The Invention of Wings was banned or restricted in United States in 2024 for its political content and challenge to authority, as well as race / colonialism. This case illustrates how governments across political systems have used censorship to shield authority from literary criticism.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2024 | PoliticalRacial |



