Melanie Benjamin (born November 24, 1962) is the pen name of

American writer American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

Melanie Hauser (née Miller).

Personal life

Born November 24, 1962, in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, Melanie is one of three children. Melanie attended Indiana University--Purdue University at Indianapolis then married Dennis Hauser in 1988; they presently reside in the

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area with their two sons. Melanie is a member of the Random House Speakers Bureau.

Publishing history

As Melanie Hauser, she published short stories in th
In Posse Review
an
The Adirondack Review
Her short story "Prodigy on Ice" won the 2001 "Now Hear This" short story competition that was part of a WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) program called Stories on Stage, where short stories were performed and broadcast. When Melanie sold her first of two contemporary novels, she had to add Lynne to her name (Melanie Lynne Hauser) to distinguish her from the published sports journalis
Melanie Hauser
The first of Melanie's contemporary novels, ''Confessions of Super Mom'' was published with Dutton in 2005; the sequel ''Super Mom Saves the World'' was published by

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publish ...

in 2007. In addition to her two contemporary novels, Melanie also contributed an essay to the antholog
IT'S A BOY
and maintained a popular mom blog called ''The Refrigerator Door''. Under the pen name Melanie Benjamin (a combination of her first name and her son's first name), she shifted genres to

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

. Her third novel, ''Alice I Have Been'', was inspired by Alice Liddell Hargreaves's life. Published in 2010 by

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

, ''Alice I Have Been'' was a national bestseller and reached the extended list of ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 2011, Benjamin fictionalized another historical female. Her novel ''The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb'' focuses on the life of Lavinia Warren Bump, a proportionate dwarf featured in P.T. Barnum's shows.

Meredith Eaton Meredith Hope Eaton Gordon (sometimes credited as Meredith Eaton-Gilden; born August 26, 1974) is an American actress. She is tall, and refers to herself as a "short-stature actress". She is known for portraying the attorney Emily Resnick on t ...

optioned the film rights for ''The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb'' in December 2011. Melanine Benjamin published a third historical fiction novel in 2013. ''The Aviator's Wife'' revolves around the historic personage of

Anne Morrow Lindbergh Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh (June 22, 1906 – February 7, 2001) was an American writer and aviator. She was the wife of decorated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, with whom she made many exploratory flights. Raised in Englewood, New Jerse ...

. It was a ''New York Times'' bestseller in both hardcover and paperback. In addition it was a ''USA Today'' bestseller as well as an Indie Next List choice in both hardcover and paperback. ''The Aviator's Wife'' has been optioned for film by Vandalia Films, Jennifer Garner's production company.

Interviews

The Diane Rehm Show

Book Trailers

The Dutch Book Trailer for ''Alice I Have Been''Book Trailer for ''Mrs. Tom Thumb''

Bibliography

As Melanie Hauser: * ''Confessions of Super Mom'', (2005) * ''Super Mom Saves the World'', (2007) As Melanie Benjamin: * ''Alice I Have Been'', (2010) * ''The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb'', (2011) * ''The Aviator's Wife'', (2013) * ''The Swans of Fifth Avenue'', (2016) * ''Girls In The Picture'', (2018) * ''Mistress of the Ritz'', (2019) * ''The Children's Blizzard'', (2021)

References