Amelia Earhart, Author

Mar 5
5 min read

by Ainsley Smith

Amelia Earhart Using a Typewriter -- Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

Some say that the sky’s the limit, but for Amelia Earhart, the sky was just one of several frontiers that she eagerly tackled. Earhart’s legacy is her impact on aviation, but a significant factor in her lasting fame was her writing.

The catalyst for Amelia Earhart’s authorial career was her experience as a social worker and teacher. While working at a settlement house in Boston, she taught English as a second language to immigrants. Amelia found the style of instruction so interesting that “I was trying to write a book on it with a co-worker when the Atlantic flight came along, and prevented our finishing it (1).” Little did she know, she would publish a book eventually– not about her teaching style, but the experience that interrupted it. George Palmer Putnam, later to become Amelia’s husband, knew about her future in publishing from the first whispers about the Atlantic Flight. He first met Amelia in 1928 when he overheard on the Staten Island ferry that a woman wished to fly the Atlantic, and about the experience, he wrote, “Just then my career as a publisher of exploration and adventure books was in full cry. And here I had stumbled on an adventure-in-the-making which, once completed, certainly should provide a book (2).” Putnam followed the story to David Layman, attorney to owner of the plane Amy Phipps Guest, and Layman instructed him “to find a suitable American woman who wanted to fly the Atlantic (3).” So Putnam contacted his friend Captain H. H. Railey, who in turn reached out to Amelia (4).

George Palmer Putnam and Amelia Earhart -- Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

In April 1928, Amelia received a call from Railey, and he explained, “a woman had planned to make a transatlantic flight, but for various personal reasons had abandoned the idea of going herself. She still, however, wanted an American to be the first of her sex to cross the ocean by air … ‘Would you fly the Atlantic (5)?’” Of course, Amelia agreed, and the terms of agreement were friendly and informal. She was not concerned with recognition for her flight on the Friendship, nor payment. Unlike the male pilot and male mechanic, she was not paid in cash but in experience, which she didn’t seem to mind: “My own compensation which I had never really seriously considered was, in addition to the fun of the exploit itself, the opportunities in aviation (6).” Her role as an unpaid passenger didn’t seem to bother her except that she was not able to pilot any part of the transatlantic flight herself; the only time she was allowed to fly was “from Burry Port [Wales] to Southampton [England]. On this stretch I did some of the flying–the only time during the trip (7).” Amelia saw the flight as an experiential opportunity and, in an attempt to learn all that she could, she kept a log of the Friendship flight. One might expect a flight log to be quite dry and technical, but excerpts of the log demonstrate her literary education and aptitude for poetic description:

I do believe we are getting out of the fog. Marvellous shapes in white stand out, some trailing shimmering veils (8).

Behind, the mass of soggy cloud we came through, is pink with dawn. Dawn ‘the rosy fingered’, as the Odyssey has it (9).

Amelia’s commentary from a passenger perspective is overwhelmingly about clouds, but her education and writing prowess are on display as she references classic literature and poetically describes the range of shapes and colors she observes.

Despite never planning to write a book about the journey, her charming flight logs were easily incorporated into a published work, and her celebrity after the flight practically ensured her success in any economic prospect. Due to her sex, Amelia was the most sensationalized member of the flight, and though she tried to emphasize the men’s roles in the flight’s success, she “happened to be a woman and the first to make a transatlantic crossing by air, and the press and the public seemed to be more interested in that fact than any other (10).” Amelia’s presence on the Friendship broke records and skyrocketed her to fame, and writing a book became inevitable. She and Putnam had become friends through preparation for the Atlantic crossing, and after the flight, “the first weeks of ‘rest’ were devoted to completing a little volume called 20 hrs. 40 min (11).”

The Fun of It by Amelia Earhart -- National Air and Space Museum — *The Fun of It* by Amelia Earhart -- National Air and Space Museum

In November of 1928, shortly after publishing her first book, Amelia began to contribute to Cosmopolitan magazine as “their first aviation editor (12).” Through 1931, she wrote a variety of articles about her flying experiences and current events in the world of aviation, with titles such as “Vagabonding by Air” or “Shall You Let Your Daughter Fly?” Amelia’s work in the magazine was primarily geared towards encouraging people– especially women– to fly, and she wrote in a simple style that was informative and accessible (13). After her stint with Cosmopolitan, Amelia returned to long-form writing with George Putnam by her side.

In his autobiography, Putnam recounts that Time magazine wrote about his and Amelia’s professional relationship: “The Putnam prominence in aviation publishing is also traceable to this versatile Putnam [George], who was among Amelia Earhart’s backers (14).” The pair did indeed work closely in the development and success of Amelia’s three published works. In her second book, Amelia recounts the process of the Atlantic flight from conception to completion. This second title, The Fun of It: Random Records of My Own Flying And of Women in Aviation, was published in 1932, and her final work, Last Flight, was published after she disappeared in 1937 by Harcourt, Brace, & Company. This text was compiled by Putnam from her writings and flight logs, and it tells the story of the flight in her own words (15). Amelia once wrote about their working relationship and marriage as a mutual partnership, and Putnam records this quote in his autobiography: “My husband … is a practicing believer in wives doing what they do best, and an approving and helpful partner in all my projects (16).”

Amelia Earhart’s writing career did more than record her accomplishments and personal anecdotes– it captured her personality and spirit. Her legacy is preserved in her own words, and they will inspire readers for generations.

Endnotes

Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It: Random Records of My Own Flying and of Women in Aviation, 56.
George Palmer Putnam, Wide Margins: A Publisher's Autobiography, 293.
Ibid.
Putnam, 294.
Earhart, 59.
Earhart, 61.
Earhart, 82.
Earhart, 74.
Earhart, 75.
Earhart, 84.
Earhart, 87.
Barbara H. Schultz, Endorsed by Earhart: How Amelia Financed Her Flying, 4.
Ibid.
Putnam, 301.
Schultz, 11.
Putnam, 283.