The Lives of Beryl Markham [Paperback]

Errol Trzebinski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 1995

A woman of captivating presence whose affairs scandalized Kenya, Beryl Markham became famous after her pioneering transatlantic solo flight in 1936.

Drawing on her own long association with Markham, as well as diaries, letters, and interviews, Errol Trzebinski unravels the complexities of one of the century's great personalities.

Markham's memoir, West with the Night, was rediscovered in 1983 and became an instant bestseller, though shadowed by rumors that Markham was not the actual author. Trzebinski here puts the question of authorship to rest, as she answers many other questions about Markham in this riveting true story of courage, rivalry, sexual intrigue, and revenge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A deft and intimate portrait of the aviator who made her pioneering transatlantic solo flight and wrote the popular West with the Night.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A powerfully written portrait. . . . Trzebinski writes of Markham's years in Africa with enormous passion for the land and an intuitive sympathy for how it shaped Markham's emotional and spiritual outlook. . . . A fascinating and provocative reappraisal of a singularly willful and conflicted woman. (Michiko Kakutani - New York Times )

This is the true biography of Beryl Markham: knowledgeably researched, rich in detail, telling the secrets and playing out the dramas that were carefully concealed in the pages of West with the Night. (James Fox, author of White Mischief )

Spun together with impressive skill. (Elspeth Huxley - Weekend Telegraph )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (March 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393312526
• ISBN-13: 978-0393312522
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I Should Have Stopped with "West with the Night", September 24, 2001

By 

Karla J. Kuriger "Bookscatslifeisgood" (Coal City, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lives of Beryl Markham (Paperback)

I am only a third of the way through this book, and am already deeply saddened by it's content. After reading "West with the Night," I was anxious to know more about the mysterious Beryl Markham. How common that this book seems to concentrate on her alleged promiscuity rather than on her remarkable achievements for a woman during the 1920's. It reads more like a transcript from a British Jerry Springer episode. It's like going to an art gallery, and listening to some jealous wannabe fool babble on and on about the artist's "intent" or their "mood" during the creation of the piece of art; piecing together their indictment from hearsay. This book would be just grand for subscribers of People magazine.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Finding Beryl Markham, May 4, 2004

By 

Gerburg Frick "narrator of Red Cage, true acc... (Lake Orion, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lives of Beryl Markham (Paperback)

After reading "West with the Night" I wanted to know who is this brilliant woman? The biography is hard to follow because events and persons are mixed in a weird cocktail. The author does not follow a clear story line, has perhaps just as little writing talent as she claims Beryl Markham did. Beryl's uninhibited life in Africa and Los Angeles is documented, but not much credit given to her remarkable talents this woman obviously possessed. Her third husband Raoul Schumacher, a Hollywood ghostwriter, is believably credited with the authorship of "West with the Night". He couldn't have written so well without the vivid recollections about horsebreeding, aviation and animal behavior in Africa by his wife Beryl Markham, whom he adored.
This biography is a hodgepodge through which one most roam to come about facts. Like for instance what kind of monoplane did she fly from London to New York etc.? Was the year 1932?

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Did she or didn't she?, April 5, 2004

By 

Ray L. Boettger (Lawton, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lives of Beryl Markham (Paperback)

Several writers have suggested what is really a sensible solution - Beryl was not an author in the traditional sense, she wrote about her life and experiences, so her efforts when trying to write commercially were plagued by her disinterest and lack of ability. She did write beautifully in West as well as those of her stories presented in the first section of Splendid Outcast, but if you compare them with ones at the end of the book, that the author suggests were probably written jointly with Rauol, the stylistic differences are clear. She was not a "writer" who could churn out material for publication, she could write about the things she knew and loved.

As to being promiscious and occasionally ornery, she saw no reason to act any differently than men acted in her world, and good for her!