Circling the Sun

Praise for Paula McLain and "The Paris Wife"

"McLain has brought Hadley [Hemingway] to life in a novel that begins in a rush of early love. . . . A moving portrait of a woman slighted by history, a woman whose . . . story needed to be told."--"The Boston Globe"

""The Paris Wife" creates the kind of out-of-body reading experience that dedicated book lovers yearn for, nearly as good as reading Hemingway for the first time--and it doesn't get much better than that."--Minneapolis "Star Tribune"

"Exquisitely evocative . . . This absorbing, illuminating book gives us an intimate view of a sympathetic and perceptive woman, the striving writer she married, the glittering and wounding Paris circle they were part of. . . . McLain reinvents the story of Hadley and Ernest's romance with the lucid grace of a practiced poet."--"The Seattle Times"

"A novel that's impossible to resist . . . It's all here, and it all feels real."--"People"

"Powerful and devastating . . . McLain pulls off a delicate balancing act, making the macho Hemingway of myth a complex and sympathetic figure."--"USA Today"

"A sweet love story with surprising emotional impact."--"Chicago Sun-Times"

Advance praise for "Circling the Sun"
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"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, a woman who persistently broke the rules, despite the personal cost. She's a rebel in her own time, and a heroine for ours."--Jojo Moyes
"McLain cements herself as "the" writer of historical fictional memoir with "Circling the Sun, "giving vivid voice to Beryl Markham. In a brilliant move, McLain hardly focuses at all on the transatlantic flight that made the aviator so famous, choosing instead to explore what happened before: Markham's unorthodox childhood in Kenya, a failed marriage, and a star-crossed love affair with Denys Finch Hatton. In McLain's confident hands, 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
Praise for Paula McLain and "The Paris Wife"

"McLain has brought Hadley [Hemingway] to life in a novel that begins in a rush of early love. . . . A moving portrait of a woman slighted by history, a woman whose . . . story needed to be told."--"The Boston Globe"

""The Paris Wife" creates the kind of out-of-body reading experience that dedicated book lovers yearn for, nearly as good as reading Hemingway for the first time--and it doesn't get much better than that."--Minneapolis "Star Tribune"

"Exquisitely evocative . . . This absorbing, illuminating book gives us an intimate view of a sympathetic and perceptive woman, the striving writer she married, the glittering and wounding Paris circle they were part of. . . . McLain reinvents the story of Hadley and Ernest's romance with the lucid grace of a practiced poet."--"The Seattle Times"

"A novel that's impossible to resist . . . It's all here, and it all feels real."--"People"

"Powerful and devastating . . . McLain pulls off a delicate balancing act, making the macho Hemingway of myth a complex and sympathetic figure."--"USA Today"

"A sweet love story with surprising emotional impact."--"Chicago Sun-Times"

"From the Hardcover edition."

Advance praise for "Circling the Sun"
""
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, a woman who persistently broke the rules, despite the personal cost. She s a rebel in her own time, and a heroine for ours. Jojo Moyes
McLain cements herself as "the" writer of historical fictional memoir with "Circling the Sun, "giving vivid voice to Beryl Markham. In a brilliant move, McLain hardly focuses at all on the transatlantic flight that made the aviator so famous, choosing instead to explore what happened before: Markham s unorthodox childhood in Kenya, a failed marriage, and a star-crossed love affair with Denys Finch Hatton. In McLain s confident hands, 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
Praise for Paula McLain and "The Paris Wife"

McLain has brought Hadley [Hemingway] to life in a novel that begins in a rush of early love. . . . A moving portrait of a woman slighted by history, a woman whose . . . story needed to be told. "The Boston Globe"

"The Paris Wife" creates the kind of out-of-body reading experience that dedicated book lovers yearn for, nearly as good as reading Hemingway for the first time and it doesn t get much better than that. Minneapolis "Star Tribune"

Exquisitely evocative . . . This absorbing, illuminating book gives us an intimate view of a sympathetic and perceptive woman, the striving writer she married, the glittering and wounding Paris circle they were part of. . . . McLain reinvents the story of Hadley and Ernest s romance with the lucid grace of a practiced poet. "The Seattle Times"

A novel that s impossible to resist . . . It s all here, and it all feels real. "People"

Powerful and devastating . . . McLain pulls off a delicate balancing act, making the macho Hemingway of myth a complex and sympathetic figure. "USA Today"

A sweet love story with surprising emotional impact. "Chicago Sun-Times"

"From the Hardcover edition.""

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 cements herself as "the" writer of historical fictional memoir with "Circling the Sun," giving vivid voice to Beryl Markham, a singular, extraordinary woman. In McLain s confident hands, 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, McLain will keep you from eating, sleeping, or checking your e-mail though you might put these pages down just long enough to order airplane tickets to Nairobi. . . . What s certain is that the reluctantly earthbound armchair reader will cherish this gift for the hidden adventurer in all of us. Like Africa as it s so gorgeously depicted here, this novel will never let you go. "The Boston Globe"
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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"
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[An] eloquent evocation of Beryl s daring life. "O: The Oprah Magazine"
Richly textured . . .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, a woman who persistently broke the rules, despite the personal cost. She s a rebel in her own time, and a heroine for ours. Jojo Moyes, author of"Me Before You"
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" By the last pages, readers will hate to say goodbye to such an irresistible narrator. "Miami Herald"
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" Paula McLain brings Beryl to glorious life, portraying a woman with a great many flaws that seem to result from her zest for life and inability to follow the roles expected of women in the 1920s and 30s. "St. Louis Post-Dispatch"
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Amelia Earhart gets all the airtime, but this pilot had the juicier past. . .. McLain crafts a story readers won t soon forget. "Good Housekeeping"
With a sharp eye for detail and style to spare, Paula McLain captures the nuances of complex relationships, the rigidity of social conventions, and the wide skies and breathtaking vistas of Africa. Christina Baker Kline, author of"Orphan Train"
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Set in 1920s Kenya, this fictionalized history of the beautiful, high-flying aviator Beryl Markham is as luminous as its headstrong heroine. An exhilarating ride. "Family Circle"
Paula McLain is yet another twenty-first-century woman who can write rings around the hyper-masculine men who dominate so much of American fiction. Liz Smith
McLain s skill at blending fact and fiction, which dazzled readers in "The Paris Wife, "is on full display. . . . "Circling the Sun" is a masterful story of hardship, courage and love. "Shelf Awareness"

"From the Hardcover edition.""

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