Circling the Sun

· Hachette UK
4.3
11 reviews
Ebook
384
Pages
Eligible
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About this ebook

A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK

'Thrilling...sun-soaked, gin-fuelled...A totally absorbing and compelling read.' Richard & Judy

The author of The Paris Wife takes us to the heart of another true story: set in 1920s colonial Kenya, Circling the Sun is about an unforgettable woman who lives by nobody's rules but her own.

She was a daughter of Edwardian England, transplanted to Kenya as a young girl by parents who dreamed of life on an African farm. But by the time Beryl Markham was sixteen, that dream had fallen apart. Catapulted into a disastrous marriage, she emerged from its wreckage with one idea: to take charge of her own destiny.

Circling the Sun takes us from the brittle glamour of the 1920s Happy Valley set, fuelled by gin and adultery, to the loneliness of life as a scandalous divorcee; from the spectacular beauty of the Kenyan landscape to the manicured lawns of Nairobi's Muthaiga Club. Dazzlingly beautiful, brave, passionate and reckless, Beryl is an unforgettable heroine, whose tragic loss in love compels her to pursue her own dream - of flight, and freedom.

Ratings and reviews

4.3
11 reviews
Reboni Saha
September 26, 2017
Set in the 1920s, this is a delicious account of expat life on African vastlands and feisty Beryl, pushing limits, breaking norms of English society and living true to her wild nature. Will touch the spirit in every woman with that warm fuzzy feeling. Simply lovely.
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Veronica Rillo
January 27, 2023
Makes me want to go to Africa, live more, feel more. and fear less.
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Kim Redfern
August 27, 2015
Excellent story that kept me engaged until the last page. Sad to close the book on Beryl.
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About the author

Paula McLain received an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan and has been awarded fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is the author of two collections of poetry, as well as a memoir, Like Family. Her novels include The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun. She lives in Cleveland with her family.

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