Amelia “Meely” Earhart

In Girl in the Glass, we learn what history books don’t know about Amelia Earhart’s ill-fated flight around the world.

From a young age, Earhart exhibited an adventurous and independent spirit. Initially pursuing education in diverse fields like medicine, it was a 1920 air show that ignited her passion for aviation. Meely (Earhart’s nickname since childhood) took her first flying lesson in 1921 and within a year set a women's altitude record. Earhart quickly became a prominent figure in the nascent field of aviation, meticulously honing her skills and demonstrating an innate talent for flying, which would soon propel (excuse the pun) her to international fame.

In her personal life, she was engaged to Samuel Chapman, a chemical engineer, for five years before she broke it off. She subsequently married publisher George Putnam, as much for business reasons as for romance, her decision discussed in Girl in the Glass as motivation for her disappearance.

Earhart's career was marked by a series of groundbreaking achievements that cemented her place in history. In 1928, she gained widespread recognition as the first woman to fly as a passenger across the Atlantic Ocean, though she was determined to pilot such a feat herself. The press nicknamed her “Lady Lindy”, comparing Earhart to the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, known as "Lucky Lindy”. She found the title embarrassing, having only been a passenger on that 1928 transatlantic flight.

Determined to achieve her own records, four years later, in 1932, she succeeded, becoming the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight. Beyond her aerial exploits, Earhart was a vocal advocate for women's equality, serving as a career counselor for Purdue University and a champion for women’s opportunities in aviation and other male-dominated fields.

Her final and most ambitious endeavor was an attempt to circumnavigate the globe at the equator in 1937, accompanied by navigator Fred Noonan. History documents the journey ending tragically during their leg from New Guinea to Howland Island in the central Pacific. Earhart and Noonan, along with their Lockheed Electra, disappeared without a trace, sparking one of aviation's most enduring mysteries. In Girl in the Glass, there’s more to Earhart’s story. As Captain Noonan explains:

“Instead of our planned Pacific arrival at Howland Island, we ditched the plane nearby, at Gardner Island, where a conveniently anchored freighter met us.”

Artifacts found on Gardner Island, including a potential piece of Earhart's plane, a woman's shoe, a sextant box for navigation equipment, a bottle of Benedictine (a drink Earhart liked), and a jar of her freckle cream, support this theory. Regardless of their fate, Amelia Earhart's legacy as a fearless aviator, a feminist icon, and a symbol of human ambition continues to inspire generations.