In the 1920s, aviation was still a new and risky phenomenon. Daredevil pilots, many recently returned from World War I, drew huge crowds with their "barnstorming" stunts. In her novel The Flying Circus, Susan Crandall traces the journey of a war veteran, a young mechanic and a runaway society girl as they form their own "flying circus" and build an unconventional family.
The narrative centers on orphan Henry Schuler, who must flee his Indiana hometown after being accused of murder. His chance encounters with Charles "Gil" Gilchrist, a troubled aviator, and Cora Rose Haviland, a bold, restless young woman determined to escape her mother's clutches, will change their lives forever. As the trio crisscrosses the Midwest, performing dazzling stunts with Gil's plane and Cora's motorcycle, Henry works hard to keep his new family afloat--and keep his secret well hidden.
Crandall (Whistling Past the Graveyard) brings the 1920s to life, touching on issues such as Prohibition, anti-German sentiment, equality for women and the role of stuntmen (and -women) in Hollywood films. But she has ultimately written a novel about relationships: the deep, complex bonds Henry, Gil and Cora share, and the tangled relationships each of them has left behind.
"Sometimes we're born where we belong and sometimes we have to search to find our place," Henry tells Cora. The Flying Circus is a compelling, big-hearted account of that search, in the air and on land. Readers will happily be swept along for the ride. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams