Paula McLain

A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK 'Thrilling...sun-soaked, gin-fuelled...A totally absorbing and compelling read.' Richard & Judy The author of The Paris Wife takes us to the heart of another true story: set in 1920s colonial Kenya, Circling the Sun is about an unforgettable woman who lives by nobody's rules but her own. She was a daughter of Edwardian England, transplanted to Kenya as a young girl by parents who dreamed of life on an African farm. But by the time Beryl Markham was sixteen, that dream had fallen apart. Catapulted into a disastrous marriage, she emerged from its wreckage with one idea: to take charge of her own destiny. Circling the Sun takes us from the brittle glamour of the 1920s Happy Valley set, fuelled by gin and adultery, to the loneliness of life as a scandalous divorcee; from the spectacular beauty of the Kenyan landscape to the manicured lawns of Nairobi's Muthaiga Club. Dazzlingly beautiful, brave, passionate and reckless, Beryl is an unforgettable heroine, whose tragic loss in love compels her to pursue her own dream - of flight, and freedom.

Circling the Sun

As a young girl, Beryl Markham was brought to Kenya from Britain by parents dreaming of a new life. For her mother, the dream quickly turned sour, and she returned home; Beryl was brought up by her father, who switched between indulgence and heavy-handed authority, allowing her first to run wild on their farm, then incarcerating her in the classroom. The scourge of governesses and serial absconder from boarding school, by the age of sixteen Beryl had been catapulted into a disastrous marriage - but it was in facing up to this reality that she took charge of her own destiny. Scandalizing high society with her errant behaviour, she left her husband and became the first woman ever to hold a professional racehorse trainer's licence. After falling in with the notoriously hedonistic and gin-soaked Happy Valley set, Beryl soon became embroiled in a complex love triangle with the writer Karen Blixen and big game-hunter Denys Finch Hatton (immortalized in Blixen's memoir Out of Africa). It was this unhappy affair which set tragedy in motion, while awakening Beryl to her truest self, and to her fate: to fly.

Lisa Miller

3.5 stars. This is a fictional-memoir of Beryl Markham who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. A remarkable feat that bookends the novel but otherwise is not mentioned. The book instead focuses on her troubled childhood in colonial Kenya 1920's era, her failed marriage of her late teens, and her struggles to carve out her own career in horse racing, farming and flying in a male dominated world. I didn't really like the first half of the book, I struggled to connect with the main character - the second half, once she reached adulthood, was better and in the end it was a good book to read.

Denyse 

"NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR, "BOOKPAGE, "AND "SHELF AWARENESS" "" Paula McLain is considered the new star of historical fiction, and for good reason. Fans of "The Paris Wife" will be captivated by "Circling the Sun, "which . . . is both beautifully written and utterly engrossing. Ann Patchett, "Country Living" Paula McLain, author of the phenomenal bestseller "The Paris Wife, " now returns with her keenly anticipated new novel, transporting readers to colonial Kenya in the 1920s. "Circling the Sun" brings to life a fearless and captivating woman Beryl Markham, a record-setting aviator caught up in a passionate love triangle with safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen, who as Isak Dinesen wrote the classic memoir "Out of Africa." Brought to Kenya from England as a child and then abandoned by her mother, Beryl is raised by both her father and the native Kipsigis tribe who share his estate. Her unconventional upbringing transforms Beryl into a bold young woman with a fierce love of all things wild and an inherent understanding of nature s delicate balance. But even the wild child must grow up, and when everything Beryl knows and trusts dissolves, she is catapulted into a string of disastrous relationships. Beryl forges her own path as a horse trainer, and her uncommon style attracts the eye of the Happy Valley set, a decadent, bohemian community of European expats who also live and love by their own set of rules. But it s the ruggedly charismatic Denys Finch Hatton who ultimately helps Beryl navigate the uncharted territory of her own heart. The intensity of their love reveals Beryl s truest self and her fate: to fly. Set against the majestic landscape of early-twentieth-century Africa, McLain s powerful tale reveals the extraordinary adventures of a woman before her time, the exhilaration of freedom and its cost, and the tenacity of the human spirit. Praise for "Circling the Sun " In McLain s confident hands, Beryl Markham crackles to life, and we readers truly understand what made a woman so far ahead of her time believe she had the power to soar. Jodi Picoult, author of "Leaving Time " Enchanting . . . a worthy heir to [Isak] Dinesen . . . Like Africa as it s so gorgeously depicted here, this novel will never let you go. "The Boston Globe " Famed aviator Beryl Markham is a novelist s dream. . . . [A] wonderful portrait of a complex woman who lived defiantly on her own terms. "People" (Book of the Week) "Circling the Sun" soars. "Newsday " Captivating . . . [an] irresistible novel. " The Seattle Times " Like its high-flying subject, "Circling the" "Sun" is audacious and glamorous and hard not to be drawn in by. Beryl Markham may have married more than once, but she was nobody s wife. " Entertainment Weekly " [An] eloquent evocation of Beryl s daring life. "O: The Oprah Magazine " Markham s life is the stuff of legend. . . . McLain has created a voice that is lush and intricate to evoke a character who is enviably brave and independent. " "NPR Bold, absorbing fiction. New York "Daily News " Paula McLain has such a gift for bringing characters to life. I loved discovering the singular Beryl Markham, with all her strengths and passions and complexities. Jojo Moyes, author of "Me Before You" "From the Hardcover edition.""

Circling the Sun

Reviews