Tag: Famous friendships past and present in real life and in fiction

Escape artist Houdini gave silent film actor Keaton his stage name. Houdini, who co-owned a traveling show with Keaton’s father, saw little Joseph Frank Keaton fall down the stairs. Houdini admired how well the baby took a “buster” and the nickname stuck. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

How Harry Houdini nicknamed “Buster” Keaton

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Founding Fathers, Washington and Hamilton, fought for U.S. independence and worked to build a stable country. They also became friends who shared the federalist view that Americans should have a strong central government as opposed to Thomas Jefferson who favored a decentralized (states’ rights) model. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Washington and Hamilton: Political allies and friends

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, orphan Tom and vagrant Huck get up to no good but are an inventive and entertaining team of mischief-makers in this satirical novel. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer are entertaining mischief-makers in Twain’s classic

The friendship between King and Shabazz grew from tragedy — the assassinations of their husbands, civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. More than widows, the women were activists in their own right and spiritual sisters in the fight for social justice. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

King and Shabazz, friends in tragedy, sisters in social activism

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Kennedy’s father, Joseph, was a friend of Chicago mafia boss Sam Giancana, who helped secure union votes for JFK in the 1960 presidential election. Sinatra, the go-between, became friendly with JFK. The friendship ended when Attorney General RFK (JFK’s brother) ordered the FBI to go after the Mob. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

JFK and Sinatra were friends until RFK went after the Mob

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Anne in L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables longs for “a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul.” She finds one in Diana. Their opposite temperaments – adventurous and imaginative vs. down-to-earth and realistic – cause tension, yet they remain lifelong friends. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Anne Shirley and Diana Barry: Temperamental opposites and lifelong friends

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Keller met Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) when he was in his late 50s and she was 14, the same age as his youngest daughter. Twain was impressed by Keller’s wit and intelligence and described her as “the eighth wonder of the world.” They loved to swap stories and exchanged many letters until Twain’s death 15 years later. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Helen Keller and Mark Twain enjoyed each other’s wit and exchanged many letters

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Kahlo, a 24-year-old Mexican painter living in the shadow of her muralist husband Diego Rivera, met O’Keefe while traveling to the U.S. in 1930. O’Keeffe, twenty years older, the wife of Alfred Stieglitz, and already an established artist, encouraged the younger woman. They admired each other’s work, especially the intense colors and floral motifs. They also bonded over the fact that both had famous, philandering husbands who caused them mental anguish. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

O’Keefe and Kahlo bonded over their vibrant art and philandering husbands

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

In the Curious George children’s books by H. A. and Margret Rey, a mischievous monkey is rescued from his misadventures by his friend and keeper The Man in the Yellow Hat. Though George’s capture would be controversial today, the affection between these characters is timeless. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Curious George & the Man in the Yellow Hat: A classic animal-human friendship

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship

Keckley, a former slave who bought her freedom and started a sewing business, was hired as the First Lady’s dressmaker. They became close friends and traveled together to raise money for the war. The friendship fell apart when Keckley wrote a memoir in 1868, revealing their private communications. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Lincoln and Keckley, the First Lady and her dressmaker, were friends until they had a falling out

Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship