Lavinia Warren Bump, a.k.a. “Vinnie” or, as she was better
known, Mrs. Tom Thumb, started to write her autobiography several times, but never
got around to completing it before her death in 1919. Her attempts were always thwarted by a desire
to leave out unpleasant details, and there had been a lot of unpleasant
details. Nearly a century later, author
Melanie Benjamin picked up Vinnie’s notes, undertook some great research, and
filled in those details. The result is a
fun novel titled The Autobiography of
Mrs. Tom Thumb.
Now before you dismiss the notion of this book,
consider this: we are talking about a real
life person, who while little in stature, was huge in life. She was a trusted colleague of P.T. Barnum, and
dined with several Presidents, the Vanderbilts, the Astors, and even Queen
Victoria. Her tours, before and after
her marriage to General Tom Thumb (perhaps one of the first living show
business celebrities who could truly be considered world famous) spanned such
historical times and settings as the Mississippi River towns of the Mark
Twain era, the advent of the abolitionist movement and the full extent of the Civil
War, entertaining for pre-General pre-President Ulysses Grant & his wife at
their Galena home, being two of the earliest passengers on the transcontinental railroad, attempted
stage coach robberies, and a World Tour that included London, Paris, Japan,
Australia while it was still a backwater colony, Siam (Thailand), India and the
Pyramids.
Each chapter of the book
begins with news clippings (Thomas Edison’s first lighted Christmas Tree for
instance) that mark the year. Better yet, with its in-depth and compelling personal
history, combined with author Melanie Benjamin’s style of writing, it is an absolutely
engaging book. Great summer read.
