West With the Night
Encyclopedia
West With the Night is a 1942 memoir by Beryl Markham
, chronicling her experiences growing up in Kenya
(then British East Africa), in the early 1900s, leading to a career as a bush pilot there. It is considered a classic of outdoor literature
, and in 2004, National Geographic Adventure
ranked it number 8 in a list of 100 best adventure books.
There are some questions of whether Markham is the real author of her memoir West With The Night
. According to the 1993 biography, "The Lives of Beryl Markham," by Errol Trzebinski
, the book's real author was her third husband, the ghost writer and journalist Raoul Schumacher. Trzebinski also claimed that Beryl Markham had an advance from Houghton Mifflin
to do a book on the famous international jockey
Tod Sloan
, that Raoul Schumacher was supposed to write. Apparently Schumacher never did, and she was forced to go it alone, resulting in a manuscript submission that the publisher rejected as worthless, and not from the same person who had written West With The Night.
Author Mary S. Lovell
, who visited and stayed with Markham in Kenya shortly before Markham's death in 1986, expressed no doubts in Markham's biography that she was the sole author, although her third husband did edit the manuscript – but not in a major way. Ernest Hemingway
was deeply impressed with Markham's writing, saying
Beryl Markham was the first pilot to fly the North Atlantic from east to west.
Beryl Markham
Beryl Markham was a British-born Kenyan aviatrix, adventurer, and racehorse trainer. During the pioneer days of aviation, she became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west...
, chronicling her experiences growing up in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
(then British East Africa), in the early 1900s, leading to a career as a bush pilot there. It is considered a classic of outdoor literature
Outdoor literature
Outdoor literature is a literature genre about or involving the outdoors. Outdoor literature encompasses several different sub-genres variously called Exploration literature, Adventure literature and Nature literature. These genres can include activities such as exploration, survival, sailing,...
, and in 2004, National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure, formerly known as Adventure One but now commonly known as Nat Geo Adventure, is a subscription TV channel part of National Geographic Channels International and News Corporation...
ranked it number 8 in a list of 100 best adventure books.
There are some questions of whether Markham is the real author of her memoir West With The Night
West With the Night
West With the Night is a 1942 memoir by Beryl Markham, chronicling her experiences growing up in Kenya , in the early 1900s, leading to a career as a bush pilot there...
. According to the 1993 biography, "The Lives of Beryl Markham," by Errol Trzebinski
Errol Trzebinski
Errol Trzebinski is an author of books on prominent individuals in the history of colonial Kenya including Silence Will Speak: A Study of the Life of Denys Finch Hatton and His Relationship With Karen Blixen ; The Kenya Pioneers: The Frontiersmen of an Adopted Land ; The Lives of Beryl Markham: Out...
, the book's real author was her third husband, the ghost writer and journalist Raoul Schumacher. Trzebinski also claimed that Beryl Markham had an advance from Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
to do a book on the famous international jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
Tod Sloan
Tod Sloan (jockey)
James Forman "Tod" Sloan was an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955.-Early life and U.S. racing career:...
, that Raoul Schumacher was supposed to write. Apparently Schumacher never did, and she was forced to go it alone, resulting in a manuscript submission that the publisher rejected as worthless, and not from the same person who had written West With The Night.
Author Mary S. Lovell
Mary S. Lovell
Mary S. Lovell is an English writer and has written biographies of Beryl Markham, Amelia Earhart, Jane Digby, Richard Francis Burton, Amy Elizabeth Thorpe, the Mitford Girls and Bess of Hardwick...
, who visited and stayed with Markham in Kenya shortly before Markham's death in 1986, expressed no doubts in Markham's biography that she was the sole author, although her third husband did edit the manuscript – but not in a major way. Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
was deeply impressed with Markham's writing, saying
Beryl Markham was the first pilot to fly the North Atlantic from east to west.