Great Circle

Maggie Shipstead

From Shelf: What I Read in 2021

It is Marian's life dream and her final journey, before she disappears without a trace. Half a century later, Hadley Baxter, a scandal-ridden Hollywood actress whose own parents perished in a plane crash is irresistibly drawn to play Marian Graves, a role that will lead her to probe the true mystery behind the vanished pilot.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERTIME BOOK OF THE YEARA Book of the Year for The Times, Telegraph, Daily Express, New Statesman, Good Housekeeping, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Time, Esquire, The Economist, Oprah Daily and Woman and Home'A gripping historical adventure that feels sharp, fresh and modern' STYLIST'So beautiful, so daring, so complete' TAYLOR JENKINS REID'A masterpiece'NIGELLA LAWSONA soaring, breathtakingly ambitious novel that weaves together the astonishing lives of a 1950s vanished female aviator and the modern-day Hollywood actress who plays her on screen. For fans of TAYLOR JENKINS REID, WILLIAM BOYD and ANN PATCHETT _______________________From her days as a wild child in prohibition America to the blitz and glitz of wartime London, from the rugged shores of New Zealand to a lonely iceshelf in Antarctica, Marian Graves is driven by a need for freedom and danger.Determined to live an independent life, she resists the pull of her childhood sweetheart, and burns her way through a suite of glamorous lovers. But it is an obsession with flight that consumes her most.Now, as she is about to fulfil her greatest ambition, to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole, Marian crash lands in a perilous wilderness of ice.Over half a century later, troubled film star Hadley Baxter is drawn inexorably to play the enigmatic pilot on screen. It is a role that will lead her to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh and spellbinding light on the story of the unknowable Marian Graves._________________________________________'Extraordinary' NEW YORK TIMES 'Full of adventure, passion and tragedy' THE TIMES'Soars from the very first page' SUNDAY EXPRESS'Luminous, masterful. Glides seamlessly through 20th century history' DAILY TELEGRAPH'Breathtaking' OBSERVER'Impressive and gripping' SUNDAY TIMES'Surprising and moving at every turn' GUARDIAN'Audacious and Immersive' DAILY MAIL'Accomplished and ambitious' FINANCIAL TIMESReaders love GREAT CIRCLE:***** What a read! Immense story with beautifully created characters***** A 600 page turner that you are sad to finish***** The story is so well researched and planned; historical fiction standing side by side with history itself***** This is a stunning achievement, my perspective feels fundamentally transformed through reading it***** A wonderful saga, covering a large chunk of the twentieth century