The fact that Henry Miller called Fear of Flying “the feminine counterpart to my own Tropic of Cancer” and predicted that “this book will make literary history” ( New York Times, September 7, 1974) didn’t account for the paperback’s success- Fear of Flying’s reputation had already been growing by word-of-mouth-but it certainly didn’t hurt. The paperback (November 1974) sold three million copies within months and was number one on the charts. The hardback edition (November 1973) reached the lower rungs of the best-seller list with reviews that ranged from rave to scathing. Love it or hate it, the book made history. House of Representatives accepted its first female page, and AT&T settled a major lawsuit by agreeing to end pay discrimination against women-Holt, Rinehart and Winston published Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying, the mock memoir of a young woman’s quest for autonomy, adventure, and mind-altering sex. In 1973-the same year that the Supreme Court decided Roe v. (Ms.)reading Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying Joanne Barkan ▪ Fall 2009
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