These are some of the books we're using to research our upcoming graphic novel Aviatrix.
West With The Night
Beryl Markham
Beryl Markham was the first solo pilot to cross the Atlantic in the eastward direction, and strangely enough, this was not even the most remarkable aspect to her life. Raised in Africa, contemporary of Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton (the subjects of Blixen's Out of Africa), paramour to the Prince of England, and eventually champion racehorse trainer, Markham's life was one truly without boundaries.
This book, written in 1942, is a memoir of her early accomplishments -- oddly, her cross-Atlantic flight occupies one thin chapter at the end. Most of the book recounts her life growing up in Africa, training horses, living among the natives, flying the bush, and just generally leading one hell of an adventurous life.
What makes this book stand out even more is the poetry of the language, a vivid writing style that even received compliments from Hemingway, who generally regarded Markham as "very unpleasant."
Order the Audiocassette (30% off)
Straight on Till Morning
Mary S. Lovell
An essential companion to Beryl Markham's West with the Night, Mary S.Lovell's biography peels back further layers of Markham's life. Sure enough, Markham was larger-than-life, with a personal life as tumultous as her public life.
Markhamwas not bound by traditions in her professional life, and her personal life was no different, replete with scandalous love affairs, including one with the then-Prince of England, shameful treatment of her friends, and a total disregard for money.
Markham covered a lot of ground during her life, from her childhood in Africa, an early career training racehorses in Kenya, her career as a bush pilot, her Atlantic flight, her career as a Hollywood advisor and author, and her return to horseracing in Africa until her death in 1986.
Paperback edition currently out of stock -- check for a reprint.
Large print edition is available -- go figure
The Sound of Wings
The Life of Amelia Earhart
Mary S. Lovell
From the author of Straight on Till Morning, a biography of American aviator Amelia Earhart.
Not yet reviewed.