The Honourable Miss Elsie Mackay, glamorous ex-film star turned bold aviator, sets her sights on becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Her friend Stella Campbell once felt at the heart of world events, but post-war hopes are frayed and marriage and motherhood have worn away her sense of self. Meanwhile, Stella’s sister […]
The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay by Flora Johnston
It’s 1927 and flight fever is running high. Daring flyers are all anyone can talk about. And now the Honourable Miss Elsie Mackay, glamorous former film star and regular name in gossip columns, has a new ambition – to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic. Elsie’s friend Stella Campbell once felt at the […]
Paris, 1919: a fragile peace
How, in 1919, could nations come together to begin rebuilding a world shattered by war? The answer seemed to be the Paris Peace Conference, which put together a plan which led to the Treaty of Versailles and what turned out to be a flawed and fragile peace. Flora Johnston’s great-aunt was a typist there, and […]
The Paris Peacemakers by Flora Johnston
1919 in Paris. And as the guns fall silent, people attempt to start afresh while the fabric of Europe is stitched together for good or ill. Stella Rutherford, desperate to staunch her grief, has thrown herself into her work at the International Peace Conference, while the crucial negotiations play out. Her sister Corran is also […]
The Paris Peacemakers by Flora Johnston
As the fragile negotiations of the international Peace Conference get underway, typist Stella Rutherford throws herself into her work and the mixture of glamour and devastation the City of Light reveals. Anything to escape the grief coming in waves for her beloved brother Jack. Her sister Corran is about to put her academic career to […]
Historical fiction’s role in giving a voice to women
Flora Johnston reveals how a shabby old gown led her to uncover the stories of two women from 17th-century Scotland – and to give them back their voices through her first novel. What is the role of historical fiction in giving a voice to the women who lived before us? When it comes to revealing […]