To Make an Elegant Monster

Not all monsters are hideous or born to evil.  From no less  an authority than Wikipedia, the term monster comes from a Latin word that means an aberrant occurrence or creature.  Well, a significant number of people have defied society's expectations and as a result, were judged as monstrous by their peers and brave by later generations.  One example is Beryl Markham, the subject of Paula McLain's Circling the Sun.  Beryl Markham is usually remembered as the first aviatrix to fly from Europe to America alone.  Her dramatic crash-landing on the bare edge of the Nova Scotia coast and her tremendous good looks made her accomplishment extraordinarily good copy for 1930's magazines and newspapers.The interesting point is that Ms. McLain's story doesn't dwell on the flying accomplishments that put Markham on the pages of aviation and gender studies textbooks; instead she looks at the events that led to this woman creating history.

McLain's novel focuses on the Kenyan upbringing that shaped so much of Markham's character.  As the daughter of a British horse-trainer in Africa, Markham witnessed the European land-grab/colonization drive of the late 1800's and early 1900's.  She knew both the native African tribes-people trying to maintain their culture and the European settlers who transferred some of their civilization's values while changing others to meet the circumstances.  This meant that when Beryl's mother left Africa with a man other than her husband and her father brought in another woman as a substitute, gossip ensued but no one explained matters to the daughter who would feel abandoned.  Those feelings would only increase around the end of World War I, when her father lost the family home to bankruptcy and left, encouraging his 15 year old daughter to stay and marry a neighbor almost twice her age.  Given these circumstances and socializing with the "Happy Valley Set" (a collection of settlers known for their spouse-swapping and drug use) it isn't surprising Beryl's first marriage collapsed.  Instead, this set the pattern for Markham who left husbands and lovers in her wake and a newborn  in the midst of a scandal for a life of flying and horses, her other great love.  Along with her flying records, Beryl Markham left her mark as the first licensed female horse-trainer in Africa who racked up 46 wins in a single racing season.  McLain portrays Markham as someone who is capable of great devotion but limited in her attention span as she throws herself into training and then leaves behind her livelihood and the African friend who depends on her whenever a new man beckons. 

Beryl's speeches in Circling the Sun about sexual freedom seem a bit anachronistic but then Markham's entire history is that of a woman out of her time.  Modern society could tolerate this woman's ambition more easily than the world of the 1920's and Ritalin would have been available for her ADD but then she might not have entered the annals of history.  Instead we have a woman of scandal whose flaws are as deep as her charm and that is, perhaps her purpose.  If Wikipedia is to be believed, monsters are a sign something is wrong with the natural order.  As the Europeans upset the natural order with a rigid behavioral code, Markham upset those Europeans and gave restless women everywhere a role model to emulate.  Not every beautiful woman is cut out to be a devoted wife or mother and it's better to accept that fact.  Forcing the unconventional few into uniform molds will only create elegant monsters.


Circling the Sun will go on sale  July 28, 2015.  My thanks to Net Galley for releasing this review copy to me.