The Edge of the Cloud is the second novel in the Flambards

Flambards

Flambards is a novel by the English author K. M. Peyton.The book and its three sequels are set just before, during, and after World War I...

 sequence by K. M. Peyton

K. M. Peyton

Kathleen Wendy Herald Peyton, who writes as K.M. Peyton is a British author.Born in Birmingham, Peyton has written more than fifty novels, including the much loved Flambards and its sequels for which she won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Award...

. It is set in the years prior to the First World War and has a strong backdrop of aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

 as it follows the romance of Christina Parsons and Will Russell. It was awarded the Carnegie Medal

Carnegie Medal

The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...

for 1969, and was reissued in Oxford Children's Modern Classics in 1998.

Plot summary

The novel is set in London where, after Will and Christina elope, Christina briefly stays with their Aunt Grace. Will finds a job as a mechanic and later as an instructor at a flying school, and Christina finds employment at a nearby hotel to be close to Will. Uncle Russel and Mr Dermont both die during the course of the story. One death fills Will with pain; the other indifference. Will and Christina become close friends with Sandy, another flying instructor, and his girlfriend, Dorothy, the spoiled daughter of Christina's employer. Will gives exhibition flights to make extra money and designs and builds his own airplane. Mark joins the army. At the end, Will becomes famous as a stunt pilot and is thinking of joining the army, which—on the eve of their long-awaited wedding—worries Christina.