The women of the abolition movement are often largely forgotten or relegated to footnotes in history books. With The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd draws our attention to the Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina, who were at the forefront of both the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements. At the centre is the relationship between Southern-born Sarah and her maid since childhood, Handful, who both dream of something more but are hemmed in by their gender and, in Handful's case, the colour of her skin.