I first came across Beryl Markham’s memoir “West With the Night” in the late 1980s when I was working at an independent bookstore in Colorado. The 1942 book apparently had been collecting dust in an attic when it was re-discovered and re-published to much acclaim in 1983. It became an international bestseller and that’s when I first got my hooks into it.
Many know by now that Beryl Markham was raised in Colonial Kenya in the 1920s. She was an independent woman before her time, becoming a racehorse trainer, a bush pilot, and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west in 1936. She then became an author, of “West With Night” and also wrote other stories that were posthumously published in “The Splendid Outcast.” She was married three times and apparently had various lovers and affairs during her life, including some say to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
But Markham’s memoir “West With the Night” doesn’t really include any of her juicy personal life; it’s mostly about her adventures in Africa, her love of animals, and her flights as a pilot. Still it’s a terrific read and made quite an impression on me. Right after I read it, I got a copy of Mary S. Lovell’s biography of Markham called “Straight On Till Morning,” which came out in 1987 and is a definitive source on her life. Lovell was able to interview Beryl and her relatives quite extensively before Beryl passed away in 1986, which makes it quite a read. If you’re at all interested in this remarkable adventurer, you should check out this very interesting biography.
Which brings me to the latest book on Beryl’s life: Paula McLain’s novel “Circling the Sun.” At the start I was a bit wary of it since a novelization of a famous person can be a bit dicey, don’t you think? I’ve always been a bit leery of authors who make up words and thoughts for iconic figures. What if they misrepresent them? Who are they to say? But I ended up really liking “Circling the Sun” and thought it had the right tone of Beryl Markham. It sounded like her from her own books. I found “Circling the Sun” to be an addicting read, and I wanted it to keep going, telling her life story well after the book ends in the 1930s. Markham didn’t die until the 1980s so there was much more to be told.
But McLain focuses on Beryl’s early years, what made her like she was, from a kid into her thirties. She delves into her personal life, how she grew up without a mother, and how she became linked with the men she would marry and others she would love. Particularly Denys Finch Hatton! The same man that Karen Blixen (i.e. Isak Dinesen) lived with and loved. The book explores their love triangle and the tragedy that ended it for good. Though surprisingly, “Circling the Sun” doesn’t delve hardly at all on Beryl’s piloting days, only at the very end. I thought more time could have been spent on her days as a bush pilot, which are quite amazing in “West With the Night.”
But on the whole, I found McLain’s book included many beautiful passages and writing. It was evocative of the time, and poignant in places; she told Beryl’s story well. But I guess not everyone’s been so keen on “Circling the Sun.” First off, biographer Mary Lovell wasn’t too pleased that McLain used the material or information that Lovell had researched for her biography and turned it into a novel without initially giving her her due. But McLain has since put Lovell in her book’s acknowledgements apparently.
Secondly in a New York Times review of “Circling the Sun,” Alexandra Fuller called McLain’s writing “insipid,” “sentimental,” and “exasperating,” which I didn’t find it to be. Fuller’s angry, too, at the “settlers who used Kenya as their hapless playground at catastrophic expense to those who called Kenya home long before the whites arrived.”
But to Beryl, Africa and Africans seemed the world to her. She was close to them; she trained with tribesmen in her youth. It didn’t appear to be a playground, it was her home for the majority of her life until her death in 1986. I stick by my impressions of “Circling the Sun” and think others — who are interested in Africa or this time period, or this remarkable woman — would like it as well.
Thank you to the publisher who supplied me with a copy to review via NetGalley of Paula McLain’s “Circling the Sun.”
What about you — have you read Paula McLain’s new novel, or any of the books about Beryl Markham — and if so, what did you think?
I really enjoyed Circling the Sun and have been surprised at the criticism it’s received. (I also dug out my old copy of West With the Night and reread sections of it — what a great book!) I thought Alexandra Fuller’s review in the NY Times was unnecessarily unkind. It’s OK to dislike a book and write a negative review, using examples of specific criticisms, but it’s NOT OK to do this in a snarky, even cruel, way. It made me lose respect for Fuller. I’m interested in Markham’s biographer’s response to the book — did McLain send her a manuscript pre-publication? Is that how she determined that certain passages were “lifted” from the biography?
Thanks Ann. I agree that Fuller’s review made me not respect her as much too. I surprisingly enjoyed Circling the Sun quite a bit. It felt accurate to me. And yes, Lovell told me in an email that the publisher Little Brown supplied her with a copy back in April and that’s when she became concerned. But it wasn’t passages lifted basically it’s the material or information — of what happens in her life, the love triangle etc. So it seems to me that’s hard to copyright — once in the public domain. Information is information whoever gets it, right?
Markham sounds like such an interesting person and someone whose works are well worth reading as whose life was worth reading about.
I also am very leery of novelizations and fictionalizations of the real lives of people no matter how well researched. I would be much more likely to read a standard biography.
With that I do think that such works can be interesting and they can have value.
Yes Brian usually I think I would prefer biographies too. It surprised me I liked it quite it a bit, but it was very well done. It’s hard to learn enough about Beryl Markham! Thanks for stopping by.
Great review! If I were to read only one of the three you mention, which one do you recommend?
Wow that’s a good question Darlene. I would have to lean toward West With the Night. That’s what I would go for. But if you want more personal stuff, try out the new novel. And thanks .
I really enjoyed this book too, but I knew nothing about Beryl when I started it. I’m glad that it resonated with you as well. I actually thought the writing was brilliant – far from insipid! I was surprised that flying didn’t come into it until the end, but ultimately not disappointed. The story was enough to keep me going.
Hi Tanya, Glad you liked it and didnt find it insipid! Yeah I kept wondering in the new book : when is she going to start flying?! I needed more on her flying etc. thanks.
Interesting comments! I just got a copy of Circling the Sun from the library because I was curious about. I usually prefer biographies to historical fiction, but Markham’s proved a bit difficult to come by. I’ll give this one a try and then dig up her memoir, I think.
Thanks Kim. I think you’ll enjoy the life and memoir of Beryl!
I loved West With the Night when I read it a few years ago. I thought it beautifully written with so many lovely passages that captured Markham’s love of the world, her world, and spirit and drive.
I found your comments on Circling the Sun interesting–I hadn’t heard of it, but I think I will add it to my tbr list. Sometimes I think the reviewer/author world is so small that at times it seems that the reviewer has an ax to grind when he/she dismisses a work that I find to be quite good. I do think it’s critical to credit sources, so I’m glad to hear McLain has done so.
Thanks Jane. I think if you liked West With the Night than you will probably also like Circling the Sun. I felt it sort of makes Beryl come to life again, which was a very good thing!
I started Circling in the Sun but failed to get hooked, however I tried it the week before we moved house, so my timing might have been better!
All this chatter about it though has made me want to reread Out of Africa 🙂
Yeah Brona: I’m sure Circling the Sun is probably not for everyone but I got caught up in it probably because of West With the Night. I love Out of Africa too. I always like rereading that one.
I’m so glad you read your thoughts on this one. My book club was thinking about reading Circling the Sun, but I love hearing about how it compares to her own memoir and another biography of her! I think turning someone’s life into a novel can be so tricky and is often done badly.
Yeah Melissa, all of these books on Beryl are quite good. I liked them all. Somehow McLain seems to make her novels of famous people work.
I just finished Part 1 – lion mauling being the highlight – but so far the book does not meet my expectations. I stopped long enough to read the reviews; I could relate to Fuller’s.
Now knowing about the upcoming connection to Out of Africa, I will probably keep reading – but maybe first I’ll check out the better books cited – Out of Africa and West with the Night.
Thanks Rosemary. I can understand that some might not find Circling the Sun that alluring a read, or that it’s full of colonists run amok. Being a fan of the books Out of Africa and West With the Night, I think helped my interest in it. You would probably like those books better, check them out if you get a chance.
I haven’t read her two books, but I think Circling the Sun felt authentic and I liked it a lot. McLain did a very good job with her subject.
Oh glad you liked it. I thought she did too.