By Paula McLain
Beryl Markham's extraordinary life in colonial Kenya
Subject
Themes
Beryl Clutterbuck arrives in British East Africa as a small child in 1906, accompanying her father Charles, who seeks fortune through horse breeding and farming. When her mother Clara abandons the family, unable to adapt to colonial life's hardships, Beryl develops fierce self-reliance, raised largely by her father's Kipsigis workers, particularly arap Maina, who teaches her to track game, train horses, and survive in the African bush. This unconventional upbringing produces a girl more comfortable in the wilderness than in drawing rooms, more skilled at breaking horses than conforming to feminine expectations.
Beryl Clutterbuck arrives in British East Africa as a small child in 1906, accompanying her father Charles, who seeks fortune through horse breeding and farming. When her mother Clara abandons the family, unable to adapt to colonial life's hardships, Beryl develops fierce self-reliance, raised…
*Circling the Sun* represents Paula McLain's second major biographical novel following *The Paris Wife*, continuing her exploration of remarkable women whose stories have been overshadowed by the men in their lives. Published in 2015, the novel intervenes in ongoing debates about Beryl Markham's…
The novel's central preoccupation is the price women pay for claiming autonomy in societies structured to deny it. Beryl's life exemplifies both the possibility and the cost of female self-determination in early twentieth-century colonial society. From childhood, she resists every attempt to channel…
The novel examines colonial Kenya as a space where European settlers construct lives premised on fundamental inequality, even when individual relationships appear to transcend racial boundaries. Beryl's childhood education by arap Maina illustrates both the possibility and the limitations of genuine…
The novel redefines courage by distinguishing it from mere recklessness, presenting Beryl's fearlessness as rooted in deep knowledge, careful preparation, and respect for danger rather than ignorance of consequences. From childhood, Beryl demonstrates unusual willingness to face physical risk,…
The novel explores how identity develops when traditional structures of family, community, and gender role fail to provide coherent frameworks for self-understanding. Beryl's identity formation occurs largely in the absence of conventional guidance: her mother abandons the family when Beryl is…
The novel systematically exposes the double standard that governs colonial society, demonstrating how identical behaviours receive radically different responses depending on the performer's gender. This inequity operates across multiple domains: sexual conduct, professional ambition, social…
Beryl Markham emerges as a figure of extraordinary self-invention, shaped by the untamed landscape of colonial Kenya and her own fierce determination to live outside prescribed boundaries. Raised largely without maternal influence after her mother's abandonment, she develops an emotional…
Denys Finch Hatton represents a particular type of colonial figure: the aristocratic adventurer who comes to Africa not to exploit or settle but to experience a kind of freedom impossible in class-bound England. Born into privilege and educated at Eton and Oxford, he possesses the confidence that…
Karen Blixen arrives in Kenya as Karen Dinesen, a Danish woman fleeing a failed romance and seeking transformation through geography and marriage. Her union with Bror Blixen is pragmatic rather than passionate, a transaction that grants her escape from Europe and him access to her family's money for…
Jock Purves enters Beryl's life as a figure of stability and conventional masculinity, offering her something she has never before experienced: uncomplicated devotion and the promise of security. A successful farmer with property and standing in colonial society, Jock represents everything that…
Mansfield Markham represents British aristocracy transplanted to Kenya, bringing with him both the privileges and the limitations of his class. The younger son of a wealthy family, he arrives in the colony with financial resources and social connections that smooth his entry into settler society.…
Lady Delamere occupies a unique position in Kenya's colonial society as the wife of Lord Delamere, one of the colony's most influential settlers. Unlike many colonial wives who remain uncomfortable with African life, Lady Delamere embraces the adventure and relative freedom Kenya offers, though…
Berkeley Cole represents the aristocratic adventurer who comes to Kenya seeking experience rather than fortune, bringing with him the refined sensibilities of the English upper class and a philosophical approach to colonial life. A close friend of Denys Finch Hatton, Berkeley shares his companion's…
Bror Blixen arrives in Kenya as a Swedish baron seeking fortune and adventure, bringing with him aristocratic credentials but limited capital and even less inclination toward sustained labour. His marriage to Karen Dinesen provides him with access to her family's money, which he immediately invests…
Arab Maina enters Beryl's childhood as her father's trusted horse groom and becomes one of the most formative influences in her early life. A member of the Kipsigis community, arap Maina possesses deep knowledge of horses, land, and survival that he shares with young Beryl when her father is too…
The prologue opens dramatically in 1936 as Beryl Markham prepares for her transatlantic flight from Abingdon, England. The Vega Gull, called The Messenger, is heavily laden with fuel for the thirty-six-hundred-mile journey across the Atlantic. Despite terrible weather and universal discouragement,…
Beryl's childhood continues with her father's acquisition of Coquette, a beautiful palomino brood mare from Lord Delamere. The purchase represents Charles Clutterbuck's constant scheming about bloodstock, always imagining how the next foal might transform their fortunes. During the visit to Equator…
Following the Paddy incident, Charles and Mrs. Orchardson use Beryl's near-death experience to justify sending her to boarding school in Nairobi, arguing she cannot run wild forever and that the bush is too dangerous. Despite Beryl's passionate protests, they remain firm. Lady Delamere, whom Beryl…
By 1919, when Beryl is sixteen, severe drought devastates the colony. No rains come, neither the soaking April storms nor the brief November showers. The plains turn sand-coloured, Lake Nakuru's waterline collapses, village herds grow emaciated, and farmers scan horizons desperately for clouds that…
The coming-out party at the New Stanley Hotel forces Beryl into uncomfortable feminine performance. She wears an egg-custard frock with stiff lace that gives her a rash and a crown of tight rosebuds. Her friend Dos Waterman, curvy and tiny in blue lace, represents everything Beryl is not:…
Beryl's marriage to Jock quickly deteriorates as the fundamental incompatibility between them becomes undeniable. She cannot and will not conform to the domestic role he expects. After repeated arguments about her refusal to abandon horse training and her insistence on maintaining independence, the…
Beryl's relationship with Denys Finch Hatton deepens from intellectual connection to romantic involvement, though their affair operates according to unconventional rules that both accept. Denys values autonomy absolutely, refusing conventional commitment to anyone. He maintains his relationship with…
Mansfield Markham's persistent courtship eventually wears down Beryl's resistance. He offers substantial wealth, social rehabilitation, and genuine devotion. Unlike Jock, whose resources were modest, Mansfield possesses fortune significant enough to eliminate all practical concerns. He can fund…
Beryl's second marriage deteriorates beyond repair as Mansfield's expectations collide irreparably with Beryl's nature. The breaking point comes not from single dramatic incident but from accumulated incompatibilities that daily life makes undeniable. Mansfield wants a wife who will manage his…
Tragedy strikes when Denys Finch Hatton dies in a plane crash near Voi. His death is sudden, unexpected, devastating in ways that reshape both Beryl's and Karen's lives irrevocably. The man who embodied freedom and autonomy, who seemed almost immortal in his confidence and capability, is gone in an…
Beryl travels to England to oversee the final modifications to the Vega Gull, christened The Messenger. The aircraft must be specially designed to carry enough fuel for thirty-six hundred miles across the Atlantic whilst remaining light enough to achieve takeoff. Engineers install extra tanks under…
On September 4, 1936, at dusk, Beryl climbs into the cockpit of The Messenger despite terrible conditions. Rain beats on the wings in timpani, wind gusts sideways, storms have hunched over the aerodrome for days. The light is stingy and wrung out, visibility minimal. Journalists and friends have…
With the engine restarted, Beryl continues her flight across the vast Atlantic darkness. Hours pass with no reference points, no landmarks, nothing but the steady drone of the engine and the constant vigilance required to maintain altitude and heading. She flies entirely on instruments, the dimly…
Gervase survived his precarious first days but remained in critical condition, attached to tubes and feeding bags, gaining and losing weight unpredictably whilst fighting jaundice under bright lamps. Beryl and Mansfield were kept from him to prevent infection, seeing him only twice during her…
In late 1929, Beryl remained in England, frequenting the Aero Club at Shellbeach, finding solace in watching aeroplanes stitch through the sky. In October, she encountered Denys unexpectedly at the aerodrome. He had used funds from the royal fiasco to purchase a gold Gipsy Moth aeroplane and was…
Beryl Markham emerges as a figure of extraordinary self-invention, shaped by the untamed landscape of colonial Kenya and her own fierce determination to live outside prescribed boundaries. Raised largely without maternal influence after her mother's abandonment, she develops an emotional…
Denys Finch Hatton represents a particular type of colonial figure: the aristocratic adventurer who comes to Africa not to exploit or settle but to experience a kind of freedom impossible in class-bound England. Born into privilege and educated at Eton and Oxford, he possesses the confidence that…
Karen Blixen arrives in Kenya as Karen Dinesen, a Danish woman fleeing a failed romance and seeking transformation through geography and marriage. Her union with Bror Blixen is pragmatic rather than passionate, a transaction that grants her escape from Europe and him access to her family's money for…
Jock Purves enters Beryl's life as a figure of stability and conventional masculinity, offering her something she has never before experienced: uncomplicated devotion and the promise of security. A successful farmer with property and standing in colonial society, Jock represents everything that…
Mansfield Markham represents British aristocracy transplanted to Kenya, bringing with him both the privileges and the limitations of his class. The younger son of a wealthy family, he arrives in the colony with financial resources and social connections that smooth his entry into settler society.…
Lady Delamere occupies a unique position in Kenya's colonial society as the wife of Lord Delamere, one of the colony's most influential settlers. Unlike many colonial wives who remain uncomfortable with African life, Lady Delamere embraces the adventure and relative freedom Kenya offers, though…
Berkeley Cole represents the aristocratic adventurer who comes to Kenya seeking experience rather than fortune, bringing with him the refined sensibilities of the English upper class and a philosophical approach to colonial life. A close friend of Denys Finch Hatton, Berkeley shares his companion's…
Bror Blixen arrives in Kenya as a Swedish baron seeking fortune and adventure, bringing with him aristocratic credentials but limited capital and even less inclination toward sustained labour. His marriage to Karen Dinesen provides him with access to her family's money, which he immediately invests…
Arab Maina enters Beryl's childhood as her father's trusted horse groom and becomes one of the most formative influences in her early life. A member of the Kipsigis community, arap Maina possesses deep knowledge of horses, land, and survival that he shares with young Beryl when her father is too…
By Paula McLain
Subject
Themes
Beryl Clutterbuck arrives in British East Africa as a small child in 1906, accompanying her father Charles, who seeks fortune through horse breeding and farming. When her mother Clara abandons the family, unable to adapt to colonial life's hardships, Beryl develops fierce self-reliance, raised largely by her father's Kipsigis workers, particularly arap Maina, who teaches her to track game, train horses, and survive in the African bush. This unconventional upbringing produces a girl more comfortable in the wilderness than in drawing rooms, more skilled at breaking horses than conforming to feminine expectations.