Aspire to the Heavens [Hardcover]

Mary Higgins Clark (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: Meredith Press, 1968; 1St Edition edition (1968)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0024LO2WA
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

If I were to define myself in one sentence, I would say, "I'm a nice Irish Catholic girl from the Bronx."

I was a Christmas Eve baby all those years ago, the second of the three children of Nora and Luke Higgins. Mother was pushing forty when they married and my father was forty-two. My older brother was named Joseph. Nineteen months later I, Mary, was born. Three and a half years later, my little brother, John, came along.

We lived in a very nice section of the Bronx on a street off Pelham Parkway. I loved our house. I still love it. After my father died, when I was eleven, my mother had to sell it.

I went to Saint Francis Xavier Grammar School. Two years ago I went back and was Principal for a Day. Escorted by two of the tiniest children, I was led into the auditorium while the whole student body sang "Hello Mary. You're back where you belong." I still tear up thinking about it.

I was awarded a scholarship to Villa Maria Academy which is in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx, otherwise I couldn't have afforded to set foot in it.

I went to Woods Secretarial School and at eighteen had my first full-time job as Secretary to the creative director of Remington Rand's in-house advertising agency. If I were making that choice now I would have gone to college even though God knows we needed the income. On the other hand the three years I spent in Remington Rand was a tutorial in advertising which served me well when I was widowed with five small children. Another plus was that I left Remington to be a flight stewardess with Pan American Airways and when my contemporaries were seniors in college, I was flying to Europe, Africa and Asia.

Warren Clark and I were married on December 26, 1949 and had five children in the next eight years; Marilyn, Warren, David, Carol and Patricia. Warren died of a heart attack in 1964. The highest compliment I can pay my kids are that they are like him.

I sold my first short story when I was twenty-eight. It was alled 'Stowaway'. It had been rejected forty times before a magazine in Chicago bought it for one hundred dollars.

My first book was about George Washington. It was published in 1969 and disappeared without a trace. Three years ago Simon and Schuster co-published it with the Mount Vernon Historical Society and retitled 'Mount Vernon Love Story', it became a bestseller.

My first suspense novel 'Where Are the Children' was bought in 1974 for three thousand dollars by Simon and Schuster. Thirty-three books later, I'm still with S&S.

Time to wind up - at least for the present. As soon as I sold 'Children' I enrolled in Fordham College. Went there for five years at night and earned a B.A. in Philosophy. Summa cum laude, if you please.

I never thought I'd marry again but ten years ago I threw a cocktail party on St. Patrick's day. My daughter, Pat, urged me to invite John Conheeney. Her opening words about him were, "Have I got a hunk for you!" He came to the party and we were married eight months later.

I'm Honorary Chairman of FraXa Research. My grandson, David, has the Fragile X syndrome, which is the second leading cause of retardation after Downs Syndrome. Basically the brain of the people who have it can't send out the proper signals because there's a kind of short circuit in the synapses that carry the signals. We raise money for research with the goal of finding a medication that will work around that short circuit. I go all over the country to the fund-raisers as new chapters of FraXa are opened.

I'm always asked to name my favorite book. They're ALL my favorites. If there is one book that is very special to me, it is my memoir 'Kitchen Privileges' because writing it made me relive my early life including those first struggles to become a writer. I think 'Kitchen Privileges' is both tender and funny and it's me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute suprise!, July 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Aspire to the Heavens (Library Binding)

I just finished reading Aspire to the Heavens for the second time. When I first discovered this true gem a few years ago, I didn't understand why it was the only Mary Higgins Clark novel left shelved at my local library during peak lending season. Admittedly I was somewhat surprised after reading Ms. Clark's introductory page stating that this was NOT a suspense novel, but rather a story about the life of George Washington. Expecting to dive into a juicy suspense - imagine my disappointment! However, after browsing over the first few pages, Ms. Clark's writing style (as always) had me immediately intrigued. This fabulous little book took us into Mr. Washington's personal life from his uncomfortable relationship with his own mother, to his lifelong infatutation with his best friend's wife, through to his spunky courtship and marriage to the wonderful and intuitive Mrs. Washington (Martha). Mary Higgins Clark taught us to KNOW George Washington, with all his leadership q! ! ualities and common sense mannerisms, allowing us to respect and admire him for the great person he was (much in the same way that he WAS perceived by his countrymen of the 1700's). This magnificent book gives us history, adventure, romance and a glimpse into a bygone era. A suspense novel it was not - but my, what a pleasant surprise! And once again, Ms. Clark's amazing writing talent managed to wrap up the novel at precisely the best possible moment, leaving me feeling like the characters were good acquaintances, yet leaving me with still another feeling - that I had gained privileged information about a truly amazing person who was not a mere piece of fiction. This is a book you will want to keep in your home library and share with the entire reading community!

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars glowing portrait of the real George Washington, April 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Aspire to the Heavens (Library Binding)

ASPIRE TO THE HEAVENS was first published in the late 1960's, well before Mary Higgins Clark's meteoric success as a author of mystery/thrillers. This biographical novel breathes life into the stick figure we know as George Washington. Portrayed as a kindly and responsible man with a welcome dash of humor, ASPIRE TO THE HEAVENS covers Washington's career from rash youth to an undaunted and vital old age. Interesting light is shown on Washington's hopeless love for the beautiful Sally Fairfax, wife of his best friend, also illuminated are his difficulties with his controlling virago of a mother. After rereading this underappreciated yet gleaming work of fiction, one can almost feel regret that Mary Higgins Clark did not continue in the field of historical literature, it is to be wondered what she might have done with figures like Jefferson and Adams. ASPIRE TO THE HEAVENS is highly recommended.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars George Washington As Family Man and Friend, January 22, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aspire to the Heavens (Library Binding)

If you are like me, you have often wondered how our most talented novelists would see important historical characters. Gore Vidal has whetted our appetite with his novels about the first hundred years of the United States. In Aspire to the Heavens, talented mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark makes George Washington come alive as a simple man with many personal challenges in his life. Although I was familiar with the material in this book, Ms. Clark did a wonderful job of both making it more interesting and accessible by making his life into a personally focused biographical novel. As a result, I got a lot of new perspectives on my own life that I will benefit from for many years to come.

The book's title alludes to a promise that George Washington's mother asked for and received from him. She wanted him to always do his utmost. In her family, that had meant "Aspire to the Heavens." He took on that promise with her encouragement. Out of his own character, though, he decided to be the most decent man he could possibly be. That latter promise to himself is the one that this book focuses on.

The form of this book is to describe George Washington through the lens of his personal life, rather than his public accomplishments. The style reads more as though it is a novel rather than a biography, and there is certainly some literary license in the ascriptions of motives and personal thoughts. Yet, these devices work well as long as you remember not to take them too seriously and literally.

Although Washington will always seem larger than life to all Americans, he was a man who had many setbacks in his own life. Before the Revolutionary War, he was certainly not considered to be the great man most now believe him to have been.

Life was hard as a youngster. His father died when he was fairly young, and his mother carried a whip to help assert her authority over him and his siblings. She did not keep a very attractive household, which young George resented. Although she loved her son, she put him down verbally at every opportunity. Her opposition to his desire for an ocean-going career was a fortunate one for the United States and democracies everywhere, but a bitter disappointment to him at the time. George sought escape from her whenever possible, especially to the home of his half-brother at Mount Vernon (which he would eventually inherit and buy out from his sister-in-law).

An early friendship with the Fairfax family led to a long relationship with the first and greatest love of Washington's life, Sally Fairfax, his proposal to her similar-appearing sister (which was refused), as well as his interest in surveying as a career.

His mother constantly tried to discourage his military career, and complained bitterly about the risks he was taking during the colonial campaigns before the Revolutionary War. She blamed the early death of George's favorite half-brother on war-related illnesses.

It is fun to read Martha Washington referred to by her pet name of "Patsy" throughout the book. You will also read here a sensitive interpretation of Washington's frustrations as a step-father and in securing Patsy's love and attention. As you may know, the story ends tragically as both step-children die at fairly young while, while the Washingtons never have children of their own. Their step-daughter asks them to adopt two of her children after her husband dies, whom the Washingtons' raise.

The book's structure is an interesting one. The main historical thread is the aftermath of John Adams's inauguration and the Washingtons' trimphant return to Mount Vernon to farm. This development is interspaced with flashbacks of key moments in the lives of both George and Patsy.

After you have finished enjoying the book, I suggest that you evaluate your own life from the perspective of how you will be remembered as a family member and as a friend. Many people focus too much on their careers and public accomplishments. This book can help you assess the balance you have achieved in your life. All of us can learn from how George Washington came to keep silent when something upset him rather than creating a fuss that would have hurt his closest relationships. He was a fine family man and friend, as a result, as well as an inspiring, steady leader.

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