Circling the Sun
Book description
The New York Times bestseller
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,…
Why read it?
5 authors picked Circling the Sun as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Wild Africa is romantic and daring and I loved the danger and inspiration of 1920s Africa, when British born real life woman Beryl Markham becomes one of the first female pilots. It’s a bit of Out of Africa and riveting.
Markham encounters many obstacles and has several disastrous relationships but eventually she overcomes and succeeds. She becomes the first person (not woman) to fly solo from Britain to North America.
From Leslie's list on powerful women in the 1920s and 1930.
Circling the Sun is based on the true story of Beryl Markham, a young Englishwoman who became the first person to fly across the Atlantic from England to North America.
We follow her adventures through Kenya as she’s abandoned by her mother, learns how to raise and race horses with her father, then becomes a pilot flying across the Kenyan plains.
The story’s central arc is her sensual awakening to men, her stumblings and fallings, her love for explorer Denis Finch Hatton, and the ways she struggles to make peace with her desire and her individualist, fiercely independent womanhood.
Set…
From Joanneh's list on sensual fiction (that doesn’t leave out the good stuff).
I love historical fiction that opens the door to a lesser-known side of a classic story. Beryl Markham was a record-setting pilot in Kenya in the 1920s, familiar with breaking down boundaries of all kinds. She was also the “other woman” in the love triangle made famous by Out of Africa, the memoir written by Karen Blixon (under the name Isak Dinesen). Both women pine for safari hunter, Denys Finch, but as an adventurer determined to make her mark, Markham’s life is defined by much more than purely romantic desires. I am a big fan of Paula Mclain’s work,…
From Katherine's list on the real lives of kick-ass women.
Circling the Sun tells the story of real-life Beryl Markham, one of the earliest female aviators, and her life in Africa, where she intersects with other real-life characters like writer Isaak Dinesen and fellow pilot and adventurer Denys Finch-Hatton, played by Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in the stunning movie Out of Africa. I loved this book because of the boldness of the main character, the beautiful writing, the engaging storyline, and the fact that it stayed true to the historical record without bogging down in it. Reading McLain inspired me in writing my own historical fiction, teaching me…
From Sally's list on for her side of history.
I completely lost myself in Paul McLain’s prose and storytelling, along with her character of Beryl Markham. In the novel, Beryl wants to be a horse trainer. She does in fact become one, which made her the very first female horse trainer, and I love that she’s portrayed as an intrepid, resilient, entrepreneurial female who tackles a man’s world and transforms her life and legacy through ambition and sheer will. One of my favorite quotes from the book illustrates this so well: “We’re all of us afraid of many things, but if you make yourself smaller or let your fear…
From Jenni's list on women paving their way in a man’s world.
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