Quite a few of the characters in this book were originally in The Paris Peacemakers, the author’s previous book which I enjoyed very much. If you haven’t read that, this is very much a stand alone book and you wouldn’t feel you’d missed anything if you haven’t already read that. Nevertheless it was nice to hear from those characters again and to see where they are at eight years on.

Stella is now married to Rob and they have a young family of their own. Rob, now a GP still suffers from flashbacks to his time as a doctor serving on the front line during WW1 and whilst Stella understands the trauma he lived through, she is frustrated that he is reluctant to take on more affluent patients so that they can move into a home of their own. They still live in Stella’s family home with her mother.

It was good to read about Stella’s life and how its turned out after her work in Paris following on from the war. Her sister Corran, once engaged to Rob herself, is still single, enjoying her career working as an academic at the university.

But the main part of the book relates to Elsie Mackay who the two sisters first met during their work in Paris back in 1919. For Elsie money is no object being the daughter of a shipping company owner. The character in the book is based on the real Elsie Mackay whose love of flying in the early days of aviation drove her ambition to be the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. The story of Elsie’s attempt to complete this flight is beautifully woven into the story and makes for a thrilling read at times.

Overall I enjoyed this book just as much as The Paris Peacemakers. I learned so much about our history through these two books. To be able to write a piece of fiction based around factual events makes history come to life and I found this a compelling and enjoyable read. At the end of the book in the author’s notes, she tells us how she came about writing the story of Elsie Mackay. The one thing I would say, is if you haven’t heard of Elsie or her history then maybe leave looking up her life story until after you’ve finished the book or you could come across a spoiler or two.

This tale of Fact and Fiction makes for a fascinating read. The titled Elsie Mackay was a remarkable woman who by the age of 35 had been a successful actress, jockey, interior decorator and pioneering aviator. The story revolves around her burning ambition to be the first woman to cross the Atlantic the hard way – east to west – against the prevailing winds. Her family and friendships provide the context of her life at this time in 1927/28 and the whole results in a wonderful read. My only disappointment is that I want to continue the story of those she left
behind as that would be as fascinating as this account.

It took me a while to get into this book, but it was definitely worth the perseverance. An interesting mix of fact and imagination; so many strands deftly woven together to make a wholly believable and enjoyable story.

I really enjoyed this as a historical fiction novel, it had that aviation element that I was hoping for . I enjoyed the overall story that was going on and actually learned a bit about the characters in this. Flora Johnston has a strong writing style and was engaged with what was happening in this novel.