WEST WITH THE NIGHT appeared on 13 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 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.

* Review coverage. * Featured on www.virago.co.uk * Features in VOGUE, CONDE NAST TRAVELLER and in-flight magazines

About the Author
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.

Reviews
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 *
[Markham] can write rings around all of us . . . I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book -- Ernest Hemingway
Markham made her name as one of the first pilots to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1936 . . . A vivacious account of an eccentric life, with Markham's headstrong nature and spirit shining out * Daily Mail *
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 *
Markham made her name as one of the first pilots to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1936 . . . A vivacious account of an eccentric life, with Markham's headstrong nature and spirit shining out * Daily Mail *



Book Information
ISBN 9780860685418
Author Beryl Markham
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Virago Press Ltd
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 255g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 126mm * 28mm