Imprint
- Virago
- Virago
Virago Modern Classics, Biography: general, Biography: historical, political & military, True stories, True stories of heroism, endurance & survival, Prose: non-fiction
ERNEST HEMINGWAY wrote to a friend: 'She can write rings around all of us . . . I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book'
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING MEMOIR
'A beautiful and evocative story' TIME OUT
'[Markham] can write rings around all of us . . . ' ERNEST HEMINGWAY
'A vivacious account of an eccentric life' DAILY MAIL
West with the Night appeared on thirteen bestseller lists on first publication in 1942. It tells the spellbinding story of Beryl Markham - aviator, racehorse trainer, fascinating beauty - and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and 30s.
Markham was taken to Kenya at the age of four. As an adult she was befriended by Denys Finch-Hatton, the big-game hunter of Out of Africa fame, who took her flying in his airplane. Thrilled by the experience, Markham went on to become the first woman in Kenya to receive a commercial pilot's license.
In 1936, she was determined to fly solo across the Atlantic without stopping. When Charles Lindbergh did the same, he had the wind behind him. Markham, by contrast, had a strong headwind against her and a plane that only flew up to 163 mph. On 4 September, she took off . . . Several days later, she crash-landed in Nova Scotia and became an instant celebrity.
Praise for West With The Night
-
A beautiful and evocative story that deserves to be ranked alongside Karen Blixen's OUT OF AFRICA - Time Out
-
A poet's feeling for her land, an adventurer's response to life - New York HERALD Tribune
Beryl Markham
Beryl Markham (1902-1986) was born in England, but grew up in East Africa. She apprenticed as a trainer and breeder of racehorses and in the 1930s became an African bush pilot. In 1936, she became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west. She is now primarily remembered as the author of her memoir, West with the Night.
Find a book you’ll love, get our Word Up newsletter
.png?auto=compress&w=150&h=60&fit=crop&fm=jpg)
.png?auto=compress&w=150&h=60&fit=crop&fm=jpg)
Hachette Australia acknowledges and pays our respects to the past, present and future Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our head office is located on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.
