Description

After breaking records and becoming an international icon in the 1930s, Batten suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and eventually dying in obscurity in Majorca, buried in a pauper’s grave.The compelling behind-the-scenes story of ‘the Garbo of the skies’ is a fascinating insight into the early days of flying, of mothers and daughters, fame and secrecy.

Publisher Review

Fiona Kidman is a Dame and an OBE for her services to New Zealand literature. 'What a character arc Jean Batten's life offers. Her progress and regress, from literally soaring achievement to huddled isolation, from heroine to recluse, is the stuff of which novels should be made. So Fiona Kidman has made one ... It's a given that Kidman couldn't produce a poor paragraph if she tried to and this is a narrative that - I have to say it - takes wing.' New Zealand Herald 'Without any doubt, Fiona Kidman has written a riveting book about one of the world's greatest aviators, the glamorous and mysterious Jean Batten.' - Jacquie Webby, Oamaru Mail 'Kidman's beautiful prose and textured characterisation help us experience the freedom of flight, the whoop of joy heard over the roar of cantankerous engines, the sheer miracle of breaking the bounds of gravity.' - Booksellers New Zealand