Memoirs & Coffee Book Group to Discuss Two Books About Aviator Beryl Markham

The next meeting of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, January 24 at 10:30 am. Manager Pat Kennedy-Grant will lead the discussion of "West with the Night" (1983) by Beryl Markham and the recent novel based on Markham's "Circling the Sun" (2015) by Paula McLain.

"West with the Night" is the memoir of Beryl Markham--aviator, racehorse trainer, beauty--and describes her life in the Kenya in the 1920s and '30s. Brought to Kenya from England as a child, she was raised by both her father and the native Kipsigis tribe who shared his estate. After apprenticing with her father as a trainer and breeder of race horses, she turned to aviation. From 1931 to 1936, Ms. Markham carried mail, passengers, and supplies in her small plane to the remote corners of the Sudan, Tanganyika, Kenya and Rhodesia. In 1936, she became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west. She died in 1986.

Paula McLain's novel "Circling the Sun" transports readers to1920s Kenya and brings Markham and her world back to life. Writer Ann Patchett called the book "beautifully written and utterly engrossing."

There is no charge to join the book discussion and no registration is needed. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.