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The 74 Historical Figures You Would Most Like To Be

Cassandra Neace

Staff Writer

Cassandra Neace is a high school English teacher in Houston. When she's not in the classroom, she reads books and writes about them. She prides herself on her ability to recommend a book for most any occasion. She can be found on Instagram @read_write_make

chance you won't returnThis giveaway is sponsored by The Chance You Won’t Return by Annie Cardi.

When your mom thinks she’s Amelia Earhart, navigating high school, first love, and family secrets is like flying solo without a map.

Driver’s ed and a first crush should be what Alex Winchester is stressed out about in high school – and she is. But what’s really on her mind is her mother. Why is she dressing in Dad’s baggy khaki pants with a silk scarf around her neck? What is she planning when she pores over maps in the middle of the night? When did she stop being Mom and start being Amelia Earhart? Alex tries to keep her budding love life apart from the growing disaster at home as her mother sinks further into her delusions. But there are those nights, when everyone else is asleep, when it’s easier to confide in Amelia than it ever was to Mom. Now, as Amelia’s flight plans become more intense, Alex is increasingly worried that Amelia is planning her final flight – the flight from which she never returns. What could possibly be driving Mom’s delusions, and how far will they take her?

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For this giveaway, we asked you to tell us which historical figure you could imagine yourself being.  Your answers ranged from painters to politicians, from Joan of Arc to Jesus.  Just like Alex’s mom, there were several people could see themselves as Amelia Earhart.  The top three responses were, much like Amelia, women who refused to live in anyone’s shadow: Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, and Queen Elizabeth I.

historical ladies collage

 

 

The rest of the responses ran the gamut from historical figures with worldwide recognition to individuals who are no less important, but whose influence was felt in a much smaller area or only known to a select group. A few could even be called infamous. Take a look at how the list rounds out:

Betsy Ross

Clara Barton

Katharine Hepburn

Cleopatra

Joe Paterno

Margaret Thatcher

C.S. Lewis

Hedy Lamarr

Franklin Roosevelt

Catherine the Great

Martha Washington

Juliette Lewis

Malcolm X

William Shakespeare

John F. Kennedy

Gertrude Stein

Margaret Mead

Susan Sontag

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Albert Einstein

Fightin’ Bob LaFollette

Abraham Lincoln

Nelson Mandela

Jane Austen

Michelangelo

Madame CJ Walker

Mahatma Ghandhi

Rosalind Franklin

Nellie Bly

Madeleine Albright

Sally Ride

John Steinbeck

Neil Armstrong

Marie Curie

Chief Justice John Marshall

Cesar Chavez

Mary Shelly

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Jackie Kennedy

Jane Goodall

William Faulkner

The Virgin Mary

Georgia O’Keefe

General Douglas MacArthur

Emily Bronte

Berthe Fraser

Anne Frank

Maria Montessori

Nicola Tesla

Pope John Paul

Louisa May Alcott

Dorothea Lange

George Washington

Marie Antoniette

Coco Chanel

Doreatha Dix

Annie Sullivan

Abigail Adams

Irena Sendler

Anne Bonney

Annie Oakley

Vlad the Impaler

Anne Boleyn

Dorothy Parker

Margery Kempe

Hatshepsut

Empress Theodora

Elizabeth Woodville

Ten randomly chosen winners were chosen and will receive a copy of The Chance You Won’t Return by Annie Cardi. Winners will be notified via email.