Marie Marvingt (1875–1963) set the world’s first women’s aviation records, won the only gold medal for outstanding performance in all sports, invented the airplane ambulance, was the first female bomber pilot in history, fought in World War I disguised as a man, took part in the Resistance of World War II, was the first to survive crossing the English Channel in a balloon, worked all her life as a journalist, spent years in North Africa and invented metal skis. Her life story was so unusually rich in exploits and accomplishments that some dismissed it as a hoax. This biography explores the life of “the most incredible woman since Joan of Arc” and investigates the reasons she has been forgotten. Known as the “fiancée of danger,” she was the model for the silent film series The Perils of Pauline.

Rosalie Maggio is the author of 22 books and lives in Pine Mountain, California.

Rosalie Maggio

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 310
Bibliographic Info: 60 photos, chronology, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7550-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3407-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Introduction 3
1. Early Years 7
2. A Woman for All Seasons 14
3. The Shooting Star 37
4. Queen of the Air 52
5. Masquerade in Uniform 74
6. The Wings of Mercy 86
7. The Fiancée of Danger 103
8. Even Cats 111
9. Making News, Breaking News 122
10. Globetrotter 134
11. Insatiable Curiosity 148
12. Psychological Portrait 156
13. All the Pretty Ribbons 163
14. My Dear Friend, the King 168
15. Who Was That Woman? 184
16. Winter of the Grasshopper 200
17. The Final Danger 215
Afterword: Marie and Me 224
Chronology 227
Chapter Notes 231
Bibliography 269
Index 301

• “Deftly written and inherently fascinating…unreservedly recommended”—Midwest Book Review.