Crossing the Horizon

September 26, 2016
Notaro (The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club) leverages her humor and keen eye for human foibles in an ambitious fictionalized account of three real-life aviatrixes whose daring exploits catapulted them into global headlines prior to Amelia Earhart’s record-setting flights. This action-packed, character-rich romp through the 1920s’ transatlantic race captures the era’s excitement and sense of possibility. With cash prizes and fame glittering on the horizon, men and women on each side of the Atlantic rushed to be the first to successfully complete the treacherous, storm-ridden flight across it. Notaro shines a spotlight on the now largely forgotten stories of the three women: Elsie Mackay, a courageous and kind-hearted English heiress who braved her family’s disapproval to follow her dreams; Mabel Boll, the scandalously renowned “Queen of Diamonds” and aspiring “Queen of the Air,” who used her wealth and influence to buy herself the fame she craved; and Ruth Elder, a young Southern beauty queen who lifted herself from poverty and obscurity through the strength of her own convictions. Initially slow to get off the ground, the story lumbers through ponderous backstories and hits rough patches of stilted dialogue before soaring into a page-turning, stomach-churning, hilarious, and heartbreaking adventure. Elsie, Mabel, and Ruth defied the odds stacked against them, and their indomitable spirits and vibrant, larger-than-life personalities provide much inspiration. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.

Three daring and determined women, inspired by Charles Lindbergh's flight, take to the skies in a risky race to be the first woman to make the dangerous trans-Atlantic flight.It's 1927. There is danger in the skies above the Atlantic--fierce winds, driving rain, lightning, and temperatures so cold that ice builds up on the wings of airplanes, dragging them out of the sky to the churning sea below. Lindbergh has made his historic flight to great acclaim; Amelia Earhart has yet to make hers. But for English heiress Elsie Mackay, wealthy society widow Mabel Boll, and Ruth Elder, a young beauty pageant winner from Alabama, the thrill of being the first woman to cross the Atlantic in the air is deemed worth risking their lives for. Notaro (The Potty Mouth at the Table, 2013, etc.) breaks from her self-deprecating comedic style to enliven a year when trans-Atlantic air travel was in its daring infancy, bringing to life these three real-life women from the pages of aviation history. In a decade of transition (women voting, hemlines rising, roles changing), there are still people who disapprove of women who want to be more than a traditional wife and mother. Not that that mattered one whit to Mackay, Boll, or Elder, as they battled family, friends, financial constraints, and most of all the weather while preparing for their life-or-death flights. Notaro portrays this exciting sliver of time with historical accuracy, providing an authentic glimpse of the era (including photographs), and then adds a pump of adrenaline by including dialogue and drama of her own imagination, creating a captivating historical fiction. Be prepared to hold tight as you're boosted into the cockpit for a two-day flight across the horizon. The odds of making it are against you--but what a ride! COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.