Amelia's Shadow

Blaze Collection

by Marie Benedict

For pilot Ruth Nichols, a soaring rivalry with Amelia Earhart becomes a deep friendship in a short story of the danger and secrets of undaunted women, inspired by true events, by New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict.

It’s Ruth’s dream to be the world’s greatest female pilot. It’s Amelia—Lady Lindy herself—who achieves it. At first competitors, Ruth soon recognizes they share a passion for the skies and for supporting trailblazing female pilots everywhere. Together they form an all-women flying group, the Ninety-Nines, and over the years their achievements become more groundbreaking, their risks more personal, and their friendship closer than ever, until the day their best-laid plans come crashing down.

Marie Benedict’s Amelia’s Shadow is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Historical, Feminism, Novella

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2024

About the author

Marie Benedict is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Queens of Crime, The Mitford Affair, Her Hidden Genius, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, The Only Woman in the Room, Lady Clementine, Carnegie's Maid, The Other Einstein, and the novella, Agent 355. With Victoria Christopher Murray, she co-wrote the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian and the Target Book of the Year The First Ladies. With Courtney Sheinmel, she co-wrote the first in a middle grade historical adventure series, called The Secrets of the Lovelace Academy.

Her books have been translated into thirty languages, and selected for the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Target Book Club, Costco Book Club, Indie Next List, and LibraryReads List.

Up next is the March 24, 2026 release, DAUGHTER OF EGYPT, the sweeping tale of a young aristocratic archaeologist — Lady Evelyn of Highclere Castle, the real Downton Abbey — who unearths the truth about a forgotten female Pharaoh, rewriting both of their legacies forever.

Reviews

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Nichols lives to fly. She becomes friends with Amelia Earhart who also tries to do the impossible and make new records in her flights. This is where both women are truly themselves. It is a hard time for women to break out and be independent. The idea of flying is considered too dangerous and off putting for a woman to do. Yet, Ruth and Amelia do exactly this. They become great friends and perhaps more, the book suggests, but does not say. Either way, both adore and admire each other. We all know what happens to Amelia Earhart, so it is sad and heartbreaking the ending. It’s a timely book as well, since Amelia Earhart’s plane has recently been discovered. I love Marie Benedict as an author. This short-story is a part of The Blaze Collection by Amazon books.

I would have liked the book to be longer, but think this is a great way to sample these women’s writing and see if you enjoy their style.

[Taury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amelia’s Shadow by Marie Benedict. Short n sweet. Wish there was a book on this subject

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of seven short stories in the Blaze collection from Amazon, about women who dare to defy convention, some of them historical female pioneers. The stories are not related and can be read in any order.

This one is about Ruth Rowland Nichols, (wiki:) the only woman yet to hold simultaneous world records for speed, altitude, and distance for a female pilot. She is presented in this story as a close friend of Amelia Earhart and co-founder of the Ninety-Nines.

[Amanda (BookLoverAmanda) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story about Ruth Nichols who is friends with Amelia Earhart as they both try to make records in flights together. During this time in history, it was hard to stand out and do something like this. They are great friends in their work. Everyone knows the end of Amelia’s story and that is shown here.

In such a short story, this author brings emotion as she usually does in her books. I’ve read another of her works and have enjoyed her storytelling. This is a great short story to read to get a good sampling of her writing if you have never read her books before. I could have easily read an entire book like this by her. 4/5 stars

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-1/2 stars!

This is a well written historical short story that got me curious about Amelia Earhart and other female pilots from her time. Amelia’s Shadow is fiction but I ended up looking up this part of history and learning more about it. Interesting stuff!

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, I would like this book. It is about a rivalry between Amelia Earhart and our heroine, Ruth Nichols. In college at Purdue University, I lived in Earhart Hall. Amelia (rhymes with Celia) is my heroine.

Another reason to love this short story: I have read many books about women aviators (aviatrixes?) and admire and am envious of them. The women who flew in WWII were trailblazers and accomplished courageous achievements.

But this is 1929. The rivalry was real... until... Ruth needed to be rescued from her downed plane and Amelia rescued her. Then they became fast friends.

4 stars

BTW, much of this book is based on history. Found this on Wikipedia:

Earhart made her first attempt at competitive air racing in 1929 during the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland Women's Air Derby (nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by Will Rogers), which left Santa Monica, California, on August 18 and arrived at Cleveland, Ohio, on August 26. During the race, Earhart settled into fourth place in the "heavy planes" division. At the second-to-last stop at Columbus, Earhart's friend Ruth Nichols, who was in third place, had an accident; her aircraft hit a tractor and flipped over, forcing her out of the race. At Cleveland, Earhart was placed third in the heavy division.

But... not all of this story is true. Some of it is just a very clever story line.

[Mitzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I unexpectedly came across this offering by Amazon today. Amelia's Shadow is part of Amazon's Blaze series about 'women igniting change'. It was a quick listen but I learned some new things about Amelia Earhart but even more so about Ruth Nichols, another aviation record holder that I knew nothing about. I'll definitely be reading and/or listening to more stories in this series!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story about Ruth Rowland Nichols, a contemporary of Amelia Earhart and a prominent pilot. Set in 1930, Ruth was devoted to Earhart

[micky :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, it was a sweet story & a cool take on the actual historical event.

[Obsidian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting point of view regarding Amelia Earhart

Part historical fiction, this reads very well though I do think at times it just didn't flow naturally from section to section. I just thought in the end that this story had more to tell and maybe it was hampered by the page count.

[Melanie THEE Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Could it be that the newspapers pitted us female pilots against each other from the start? Could it be that the men who run the aviation businesses and the reporters who write articles about us will only allow one woman in the ranks, forcing us to vie for that sole spot? But perhaps we needn’t play their games. Perhaps we can create our own trajectory"


Short and moving story about Ruth Nichols and her friendship with fellow pilot Amelia Earhart, as they blaze their own paths in a society that attempts to keep them in a box.

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok, so I love opportunities to learn more about Amelia Earhart. I couldn't sleep last night and opened up my Kindle. Discovered this little gem on KU and being the shortness of the story, I began reading. I did not know about this woman, Ruth Nichols, who was a good friend of Amelia's and they both were women pilots at the same time. Equals in their field. A plan develops for Amelia to disappear from the world and a life she does not want. They included in their plan to meet up somewhere on the other side.

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?
Did you know this?
It is women's history month...I am doing all kinds of books with students of different grade levels. And wow! This adds another layer to the lessons I am already teaching.

I would like to know more. I wish this book had been a bit longer. Highly recommended! Check it out! Free to read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

[Cathrine ☯️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🛩️🛩️🛩️

[Caitlin Rydberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was an interesting story especially with the most recent news of potentially finding Amelia’s plane. It almost read as a love story.

[Atieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان کوتاه از زبان خلبان زن، روث نیکولز، که هم دوره ی املیا ارهارت بود و رقابتی که به یک دوستی عمیق تبدیل شد ❤️
دوستش داشتم

[mandie ♱ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was kind of hoping it'd end in some alternate reality where she hadn't disappeared and she'd been able to run away with Ruth

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one..... about women aviators.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very excited about this Amazon collection of historical fiction short stories. I listened to this one. It is about the female pilot Ruth Nichols. She is a friend of Amelia Earhart and I enjoyed their story. The great thing about historical fiction is now I am doing a deep dive into Ruth Nichols.

[Rose | Adventurous Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

The breaks and time-jumps were very clunky and confusing.

2.5 Stars

[Tarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just started and finished Amelia's Shadow while waiting for my doctors appointment! I have to admit, I didn't love it. The idea and length didn't bother me but it was poorly executed. It seemed stilted and disjointed. Interesting concept, though. I've read several books by that Maeie Benedict and didn't love them. I feel like her feminism is heavy handed and bitter though her subjects are interesting and often shed light into unseen history.

[Tonya Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a short story and a great book for WOMEN'S HERSTORY MONTH. This is the first book in a series called BLAZE....UNSTOPPABLE WOMEN IGNITING CHANGE. There are 7 books in the series.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting imagining of the friendship between the real pilots Ruth Nichols & Amelia Earhart, as they attempt to prove that women have what it takes to be pilots.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was medium ok.
It seemed to speak about girl boss power and I wanted it to show girl boss power.

[alisonwonderland (Alison) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia’s Shadow is part of Blaze, a collection of seven historical fiction short stories about “incendiary women across the decades” igniting change and blazing trails.

My husband and I listened to this one on Audible today during a car ride. It’s 53 minutes long and read by Andi Arndt.

We’d each previously listened to Fly Girls, which introduced us to Ruth Nichols, the main character of this story, and other female pilots in the 1930s.

This story was an enjoyable (albeit very short) re-visit to that time and the pioneering work of Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, and their sister pilots.

[Haley Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun series just realized with Amazon Prime reading. Each story follows an unforgettable females throughout history!

Ruth Nicols, only woman to hold simultaneously the women's world speed, altitude, and distance records for heavy landplanes. She is friends with Amelia Earhart and their friendship grows close during their time of trying to be taken serious as female pilots.

[Michelle Bruehler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't realize this was a short story....

[Jenene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Patricia Puckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy for free in exchange for an honest review*

This one was interesting. Starting off in a collection in honor of National Women's Month about women who broke from the traditional to blaze--see what I did there?--the way for future women to follow their dreams. This one was oddly timely since one of the main characters in this story was Amelia Earhart. This was about a strong friendship--I think there was more, but maybe that I was just my wishful thinking--between two female aviators and the story of their struggles to be taken seriously in a field that, surprise surprise, was dominated by men. I loved the personal view of Amelia's story, and the ending was expectedly heartbreaking. Felt like something I needed to read, given the news of Amelia's plane in the recent weeks.

[Emily B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Upon reading more about her life this story frustrates me more. Yes, it is a work of fiction, but it feels as if the author does not have much to base who she made Amelia and Ruth to be in this story or the way she portrayed her marriage and desire to end it.