Tag Archives: historical fiction

13 March 1928: Elsie Mackay

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#OTD Scottish aviatrix Elsie Mackay and her co-pilot Captain Hinchliffe set off from RAF Cranwell on a secret flight in their plane ‘Endeavour’. Elsie intended to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic in either direction and, with Hinch, to make the first successful flight over the Atlantic in the harder east-west direction.

Portrait of Elsie by Sandy Morrison @sandysdrawingroom

Elsie had no need of fame and fortune but wanted to use her achievement to launch her own commercially viable airline.

A former filmstar with the stage name Poppy Wyndham, she was the wealthy daughter of Lord Inchcape, chairman of P&O shipping line, and worked as interior designer on his ships. Their Scottish home was fairytale Glenapp Castle in Ayrshire.

Find out more about Elsie’s extraordinary story in The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay, published by Allison and Busby.

The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay

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I’m delighted to be able to share news of my new novel, The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay, which will be published by Allison and Busby on 23 January 2025 and is available to pre-order now!

The novel is inspired by the true story of pioneering Scottish aviator, Elsie Mackay. We first met Elsie briefly in The Paris Peacemakers when, using the stage name Poppy Wyndham, she was forging a career as a film star. Now she has a new dream: to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic.

Meanwhile Stella feels trapped by motherhood and domesticity and longs to soar like her wealthy friend Elsie. Her sister Corran appears to be immersed her academic career but her secrets are beginning to unravel, while their mother Alison sets off on a Mediterranean cruise with unexpected consequences. Their hopes and dreams intertwine with Elsie’s remarkable story in The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay.

Pre-order The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay now in hardback or on kindle!

Portobello Book Festival and Edinburgh Central Library

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It’s been a good week! On Saturday I had a great time taking part in the Portobello Book Festival as part of a panel on ‘Women in Historical Fiction’, along with Jane Anderson (The Paintress) and Sue Lawrence (Lady’s Rock), expertly chaired by Joanne Baird. This is a brilliant community book festival which always has an interesting programme – check it out next year!

Then on Wednesday Edinburgh Central Library kindly hosted an event exploring ‘Family Stories in Historical Fiction’. Helen Graham (The Real Mackay) and I really enjoyed our discussion on researching and writing our recent novels, and Susan Elsley was a fabulous chair. It was an added bonus to have my brother Sandy in the audience sketching the event. If you’ve read The Paris Peacemakers, you’ll know that Jack’s sketch of the Calcutta Cup match at the start of the novel is significant. The idea of a brother who sketches on every occasion may not be entirely fiction!

On my way into town on Wednesday for the Central Library event I popped into Waterstones at the West End. What a thrill to see copies of the new paperback edition of The Paris Peacemakers on the historical fiction table, alongside some amazing authors!

We’re looking forward to celebrating the launch of the paperback in London at HTA Design on 12 November. Tickets available here!

‘What You Call Free’ in the Grassmarket

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During Book Week Scotland I’ll be joining fellow Ringwood Publishing author Lynda Kristiansen to talk about our novels within the context of Scottish historical fiction.

It’s such a thrill to speak about What You Call Free in the Grassmarket itself, where some of the most important action in the book took place.

And of course, having launched the book in March in lockdown, it’s wonderful at last to be able to meet and chat with readers in person.

Please do come along if you can.