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The Infinite Air
"Kidman couldn't produce a poor paragraph if she tried to and this is a narrative that—I have to say it—takes wing."—New Zealand Herald
The rise and fall of the 'Garbo of the skies', as told by one of New Zealand's finest novelists
Jean Batten became an international icon in 1930s. A brave, beautiful woman, she made a number of heroic solo flights across the world. The newspapers couldn't get enough of her.
In 1934, she broke Amy Johnson's flight time between England and Australia by six days. The following year, she was the first woman to make the return flight. In 1936, she made the first ever direct flight between England and New Zealand and then the fastest ever trans-Tasman flight. Jean Batten stood for adventure, daring, exploration and glamour.
The Second World War ended Jean's flying adventures. She suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and eventually dying in Majorca, buried in a pauper's grave. Fiona Kidman's enthralling novel delves into the life of this enigmatic woman. It is a fascinating exploration of early aviation, of fame, and of secrecy.
Fiona Kidman is a Dame and an OBE for her services to New Zealand literature.
The rise and fall of the 'Garbo of the skies', as told by one of New Zealand's finest novelists
Jean Batten became an international icon in 1930s. A brave, beautiful woman, she made a number of heroic solo flights across the world. The newspapers couldn't get enough of her.
In 1934, she broke Amy Johnson's flight time between England and Australia by six days. The following year, she was the first woman to make the return flight. In 1936, she made the first ever direct flight between England and New Zealand and then the fastest ever trans-Tasman flight. Jean Batten stood for adventure, daring, exploration and glamour.
The Second World War ended Jean's flying adventures. She suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and eventually dying in Majorca, buried in a pauper's grave. Fiona Kidman's enthralling novel delves into the life of this enigmatic woman. It is a fascinating exploration of early aviation, of fame, and of secrecy.
Fiona Kidman is a Dame and an OBE for her services to New Zealand literature.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
14 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Kidman
54 books66 followersFiona Kidman is a leading contemporary novelist, short story writer and poet. Much of her fiction is focused on how outsiders navigate their way in narrowly conformist society. She has published a large and exciting range of fiction and poetry, and has worked as a librarian, producer and critic. Kidman has won numerous awards, and she has been the recipient of fellowships, grants and other significant honours, as well as being a consistent advocate for New Zealand writers and literature. She is the President of Honour for the New Zealand Book Council, and has been awarded an OBE and a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
September 14, 2021
3.5★
I read Fiona Kidman's This Mortal Boy last year and it was one of my favourite reads of 2020. I thought Kidman did a marvellous job of recreating a life of a nearly forgotten figure from New Zealand history, Albert Black.
With famed Kiwi aviator the enigmatic Jean Batten, not so much although I do value Kidman's more sympathetic than usual interpretation of Miss Batten's life.
Jean came from a seriously dysfunctional background. Her mother Nelly was obsessed with Jean and neglected her sons, her father was a notorious philanderer. Not too surprisingly, the marriage didn't work out! Her brothers in Kidman's interpretation were left to make their own way in the world - in a twist I didn't know, the younger brother John became a Hollywood actor who did very well for a time.
Jean meanwhile grew into an astonishingly beautiful young girl.
Highly intelligent, she was also a gifted dancer and pianist. Her father was happy to encourage Jean in her dreams to become a concert pianist. But Jean, even though she was living in near poverty with her mother was determined to fly.
Where Kidman's account differs from many others, both in newspaper accounts and biographies, is that she doesn't see Jean as a heartless gold digger who ruthlessly obtained money from men to follow her flying dream. Some of them were infatuated with her beauty but who want to control her- and certainly didn't understand her. This is indeed the strongest part of the book. I loved being gently lead to a different interpretation of Jean's character.
Kidman even portrays Jean's great love Beverley Shepherd as someone who would want to control her.
But the most controlling person in Jeans life was her mother, Nelly. Does Jean ever realise this?
For me, the book quality tails off quite a bit in Jean's post fame years. It is almost like Jean & Nelly are cardboard cut-outs pasted into different scenes. Jean may have been happy to keep her mystique, but I was a little disappointed.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
I read Fiona Kidman's This Mortal Boy last year and it was one of my favourite reads of 2020. I thought Kidman did a marvellous job of recreating a life of a nearly forgotten figure from New Zealand history, Albert Black.
With famed Kiwi aviator the enigmatic Jean Batten, not so much although I do value Kidman's more sympathetic than usual interpretation of Miss Batten's life.
Jean came from a seriously dysfunctional background. Her mother Nelly was obsessed with Jean and neglected her sons, her father was a notorious philanderer. Not too surprisingly, the marriage didn't work out! Her brothers in Kidman's interpretation were left to make their own way in the world - in a twist I didn't know, the younger brother John became a Hollywood actor who did very well for a time.
Jean meanwhile grew into an astonishingly beautiful young girl.
Jean at 15 years old.
Highly intelligent, she was also a gifted dancer and pianist. Her father was happy to encourage Jean in her dreams to become a concert pianist. But Jean, even though she was living in near poverty with her mother was determined to fly.
Where Kidman's account differs from many others, both in newspaper accounts and biographies, is that she doesn't see Jean as a heartless gold digger who ruthlessly obtained money from men to follow her flying dream. Some of them were infatuated with her beauty but who want to control her- and certainly didn't understand her. This is indeed the strongest part of the book. I loved being gently lead to a different interpretation of Jean's character.
Kidman even portrays Jean's great love Beverley Shepherd as someone who would want to control her.
But the most controlling person in Jeans life was her mother, Nelly. Does Jean ever realise this?
For me, the book quality tails off quite a bit in Jean's post fame years. It is almost like Jean & Nelly are cardboard cut-outs pasted into different scenes. Jean may have been happy to keep her mystique, but I was a little disappointed.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
September 14, 2021
The Infinite Air is a novel that brings together much that is known about the international aviation legend Jean Batten and through research, letters, radio excerpts brings her character and personality to life, in a more understanding and compassionate way than some of the more judgemental depictions of her in the past, views that hastened to depict her as a gold-digger, due to her adept success at raising the necessary funds to support her desire to break long haul aviation records.
She was New Zealand’s most famous aviator, celebrated around the world in the 1930’s, as she attempted record-breaking solo flights from England to Australia and back, one of the few who survived such daring escapades, though sadly she would die in relative obscurity in Majorca, Spain buried in a pauper’s grave, without anyone from her native New Zealand, aware of the loss of this great female legend.
Fiona Kidman brings the story back to Jean Batten’s birth in Rotorua, New Zealand in September 1909 and the symbolic reference and future inspiration of a photograph her mother pinned above her cot in 1910 of the French aviator, Louis Blériot, the first man to fly the English Channel. It was an image lodged early in her young mind and the seed of a passion that would consume her totally as a young adult.
Childhood Influences & Circumstances
Jean Batten was the only daughter of the family with two older brothers, one she was close to in childhood, though the disintegration of the family, when her mother could no longer support her husband’s infidelities, created a distance between the siblings as well as the parents. She would eventually lose contact with her family and country (except the constant companion and guidance of her mother) when she moved permanently to live in Europe.
As a child and a young adult she did well in school and was passionate about dance and played classical piano. Although her mother had financial difficulties after separating from her husband, she did her best to keep her daughter in a good school and to pursue those interests. Jean excelled at all activities but there was only one that she dreamed of to the point of obsession and would become her sole purpose for the short period she was able to pursue it.
The Power of Perseverance and Passion
She was on her way to becoming a successful concert pianist (a career her father supported), though she nurtured that flame of interest in aviation, when her true passion was ignited by news of Charles Lindbergh’s solo non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1929, she travelled with her mother to Australia and met, flew with and developed a friendship with the aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. From that moment on she became obsessed with wanting to fly and create world records, encouraged by her mother.
In early 1930, she sold her piano to fund a passage to England where she joined a London Aeroplane Club, obtained her pilot’s licence and set about quickly to challenge the record for a solo flight from England to Australia, first set by the English pilot Amy Johnson. She made friends and attracted suitors at the Club and through her connections, managed to acquire herself an aircraft, an astonishing feat given how she and her mother struggled to maintain the social status they aspired towards. They were not wealthy, they were equally determined and driven by Jean’s ambition to succeed.
Jean Batten was renowned for her navigation skills and was a confident flyer, something that might be said about most aviators attempting solo records at the time, they had to prepare well, and to be prepared to take great risks to fly with the knowledge that if anything went wrong, death or luck were the likely outcomes.
Thwarted Attempts to Soar
In her first two attempts at the record Batten got into trouble. The first flight she became caught in a sandstorm over the desert in Iraq, landed and slept under the wing. She continued on but experienced engine failure and crash landed near Karachi, wrecking the plane.
Her next attempt, after obtaining the sponsorship of Charles Wakefield of Castrol Oil, who funded a second-hand gypsy moth, after landing in Marseille to refuel she was warned not to continue due to the weather, but was determined to continue, the authorities refused to help her start the engine, then forbade her to depart without signing an indemnity making her fully responsible for the consequences.
It was an attitude she became used to confronting – she didn’t hesitate to sign it and took off into the headwind of a blustery storm with limited visibility, heading for Rome. Her engine spluttering, out of fuel, she was preparing to crash in the sea when the lights of the city appeared, enabling her to navigate her way to a semi-successful crash landing, one that clipped her wings which would require replacing and in ten days she was back in England setting off for her third and ultimately successful attempt.
The Strength of Fiction, To Imagine
Dame Fiona Kidman, the New Zealand author of more than 20 novels has chosen to fictionlise the story of Jean Batten’s life, in order to bring out more of her character and the early years of her life that contributed to her passion. For a young woman who did not come from a wealthy family, who was not married, though she was engaged a few times, her successes were an extraordinary accomplishment, that were marred only by the onset of World War 2 when her plane was confiscated and perhaps even more so by certain tragedies that touched her life and dramatically altered its course.
The novel pays a fitting tribute to this lost heroine of the skies and sees past that ‘driven’ aspect of her character that is too often portrayed as a negative characteristic in a woman, particularly of that era she lived in.
She was New Zealand’s most famous aviator, celebrated around the world in the 1930’s, as she attempted record-breaking solo flights from England to Australia and back, one of the few who survived such daring escapades, though sadly she would die in relative obscurity in Majorca, Spain buried in a pauper’s grave, without anyone from her native New Zealand, aware of the loss of this great female legend.
Fiona Kidman brings the story back to Jean Batten’s birth in Rotorua, New Zealand in September 1909 and the symbolic reference and future inspiration of a photograph her mother pinned above her cot in 1910 of the French aviator, Louis Blériot, the first man to fly the English Channel. It was an image lodged early in her young mind and the seed of a passion that would consume her totally as a young adult.
Childhood Influences & Circumstances
Jean Batten was the only daughter of the family with two older brothers, one she was close to in childhood, though the disintegration of the family, when her mother could no longer support her husband’s infidelities, created a distance between the siblings as well as the parents. She would eventually lose contact with her family and country (except the constant companion and guidance of her mother) when she moved permanently to live in Europe.
As a child and a young adult she did well in school and was passionate about dance and played classical piano. Although her mother had financial difficulties after separating from her husband, she did her best to keep her daughter in a good school and to pursue those interests. Jean excelled at all activities but there was only one that she dreamed of to the point of obsession and would become her sole purpose for the short period she was able to pursue it.
The Power of Perseverance and Passion
She was on her way to becoming a successful concert pianist (a career her father supported), though she nurtured that flame of interest in aviation, when her true passion was ignited by news of Charles Lindbergh’s solo non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1929, she travelled with her mother to Australia and met, flew with and developed a friendship with the aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. From that moment on she became obsessed with wanting to fly and create world records, encouraged by her mother.
In early 1930, she sold her piano to fund a passage to England where she joined a London Aeroplane Club, obtained her pilot’s licence and set about quickly to challenge the record for a solo flight from England to Australia, first set by the English pilot Amy Johnson. She made friends and attracted suitors at the Club and through her connections, managed to acquire herself an aircraft, an astonishing feat given how she and her mother struggled to maintain the social status they aspired towards. They were not wealthy, they were equally determined and driven by Jean’s ambition to succeed.
Jean Batten was renowned for her navigation skills and was a confident flyer, something that might be said about most aviators attempting solo records at the time, they had to prepare well, and to be prepared to take great risks to fly with the knowledge that if anything went wrong, death or luck were the likely outcomes.
"In flying I found the two things that meant everything to me: the intoxicating drug of speed and the freedom to roam the earth; I knew I was destined to be a wanderer." Jean Batten, Narration from Batten's unpublished memoirs
Thwarted Attempts to Soar
In her first two attempts at the record Batten got into trouble. The first flight she became caught in a sandstorm over the desert in Iraq, landed and slept under the wing. She continued on but experienced engine failure and crash landed near Karachi, wrecking the plane.
Her next attempt, after obtaining the sponsorship of Charles Wakefield of Castrol Oil, who funded a second-hand gypsy moth, after landing in Marseille to refuel she was warned not to continue due to the weather, but was determined to continue, the authorities refused to help her start the engine, then forbade her to depart without signing an indemnity making her fully responsible for the consequences.
It was an attitude she became used to confronting – she didn’t hesitate to sign it and took off into the headwind of a blustery storm with limited visibility, heading for Rome. Her engine spluttering, out of fuel, she was preparing to crash in the sea when the lights of the city appeared, enabling her to navigate her way to a semi-successful crash landing, one that clipped her wings which would require replacing and in ten days she was back in England setting off for her third and ultimately successful attempt.
The Strength of Fiction, To Imagine
Dame Fiona Kidman, the New Zealand author of more than 20 novels has chosen to fictionlise the story of Jean Batten’s life, in order to bring out more of her character and the early years of her life that contributed to her passion. For a young woman who did not come from a wealthy family, who was not married, though she was engaged a few times, her successes were an extraordinary accomplishment, that were marred only by the onset of World War 2 when her plane was confiscated and perhaps even more so by certain tragedies that touched her life and dramatically altered its course.
The novel pays a fitting tribute to this lost heroine of the skies and sees past that ‘driven’ aspect of her character that is too often portrayed as a negative characteristic in a woman, particularly of that era she lived in.
Every flyer who ventures across oceans to distant lands is a potential explorer; in his or her breast burns the same fire that urged the adventurers of old to set forth in their sailing-ships for foreign lands. Riding through the air on silver wings instead of sailing the seas with white wings, he must steer his own course, for the air is uncharted, and he must therefore explore for himself the strange eddies and currents of the ever-changing sky in its many moods.
Jean Batten
January 5, 2021
Reads more like a biography than a novel as it's written in a passive observer kind of way. Much to my shame I had not heard of the 1930s aviator Jean Batten who for a while held various records for long solo flights. Such a talented woman in dance and as a pianist before she realised her dreams of being a pilot. Her relationship with her mother showed two determined women. Her relationships with men were remote and untrusting. The few times she let someone into her life ended in tragedy. Her life post flying was just as interesting as she retreated into solitude. I'm now an admirer of her.
August 15, 2017
This is a very interesting biography of Jean Batten, the NZ pioneer aviator famous in the 1930s for breaking the women's record for a flight from England to Australia. She was a very talented musician (could have pursued a career as pianist) graceful (also as a dancer) as well as apparently being very beautiful (also known as Garbo of the skies).
The book is very well written rags to riches story; however, I didn’t particularly like the protagonist, as she had the habit of taking advantage of her male companions in order to finance her budding flying career.
3.5 stars
The book is very well written rags to riches story; however, I didn’t particularly like the protagonist, as she had the habit of taking advantage of her male companions in order to finance her budding flying career.
3.5 stars
May 4, 2021
I had almost zero knowledge of the female aviators that broke world records and helped advanced flight, let alone of the struggles to get their flights funded and so on. Jean Batten was just a name in the history of world records. But with Fiona Kidman's fictionalized account, her biography truly came to life for me - including the less savory parts with the descent into weirdness and the status of a social recluse. A fascinating figure, Jean Batten will be much better understood and well-known by posterity thanks to efforts such as this book.
December 27, 2016
When Jean Batten is a young girl she only has one wish, she wants to fly. That thought never leaves her, when she's older she still wants to be able to control a plane and be in the air. Together with her mother she chases her dream. She meets many different people and travels a lot. When she finally has the chance to fly it's time to set records. Jean Batten has a promising career until the Second World War ends what she loves the most.
Jean Batten is a talented woman who can do whatever she wants. She can sing, dance, play the piano and is good at every subject at school. She can do anything she sets her mind to. Her mother is her biggest support. She manages the finances and she makes sure there's enough money for Jean's flying lessons. Jean has a chance to enter the world of flying and to break records, to own a plane and to fly whenever she wants and wherever she wants.
The Infinite Air is a beautiful story about the life of Jean Batten. Jean is gifted and she's determined. She's a remarkable person. She's pretty, she's smart and she's impressive. I loved reading about her life and the drive she has to make her biggest wish come true. She doesn't have an easy life, it's filled with loss and bad luck as well as great achievements and huge popularity. It's a life of extremes and that fascinated me from the start.
Fiona Kidman has a wonderful writing-style. Her sentences are beautiful and she has a vivid way of describing things. I felt Jean's freedom, her frustration, her elation and her sadness. Jean Batten is a special woman and Fiona Kidman manages to show her readers in detail what she's like and what kind of life she leads. I loved that approach. Jean is a private person, but because of this book it's possible to get closer to her, to see who she is inside, which is really interesting and enjoyable. I couldn't put this novel away, it gripped me from the start. Fiona Kidman has written a fantastic book about a legendary woman.
Jean Batten is a talented woman who can do whatever she wants. She can sing, dance, play the piano and is good at every subject at school. She can do anything she sets her mind to. Her mother is her biggest support. She manages the finances and she makes sure there's enough money for Jean's flying lessons. Jean has a chance to enter the world of flying and to break records, to own a plane and to fly whenever she wants and wherever she wants.
The Infinite Air is a beautiful story about the life of Jean Batten. Jean is gifted and she's determined. She's a remarkable person. She's pretty, she's smart and she's impressive. I loved reading about her life and the drive she has to make her biggest wish come true. She doesn't have an easy life, it's filled with loss and bad luck as well as great achievements and huge popularity. It's a life of extremes and that fascinated me from the start.
Fiona Kidman has a wonderful writing-style. Her sentences are beautiful and she has a vivid way of describing things. I felt Jean's freedom, her frustration, her elation and her sadness. Jean Batten is a special woman and Fiona Kidman manages to show her readers in detail what she's like and what kind of life she leads. I loved that approach. Jean is a private person, but because of this book it's possible to get closer to her, to see who she is inside, which is really interesting and enjoyable. I couldn't put this novel away, it gripped me from the start. Fiona Kidman has written a fantastic book about a legendary woman.
July 9, 2014
This novel about Jean Batten is an exploration of the pioneering New Zealand aviator and her life. Fiona Kidman's writing flows seemingly effortlessly, making it easy to read, and is a fine example of a skilled writer who uses her craft to best advantage. The language is authentic of the period, and there is a good balance between dialogue, action and description.
The author portrays Jean Batten sympathetically, while remaining true to the attitudes of the time about gender, race and class. Batten's will to succeed at flying is tremendous; she's a true Kiwi heroine and role model. I knew next to nothing about her before reading the book; now I've been enlightened about her life through this engaging story.
The author portrays Jean Batten sympathetically, while remaining true to the attitudes of the time about gender, race and class. Batten's will to succeed at flying is tremendous; she's a true Kiwi heroine and role model. I knew next to nothing about her before reading the book; now I've been enlightened about her life through this engaging story.
February 21, 2016
I really enjoyed this fictional version of the life of New Zealander, Jean Batten who was a pioneering aviator.
I think the book was originally published in 2013, but through Netgalley and Aardvark Bureau, I was given the chance to read a forthcoming UK edition in exchange for an honest review.
There are many detailed reviews which chart the details about the novel, so I will not try to repeat what has been written before.
The author, Fiona Kidman has created a beautifully written story which captures the life of Jean Batten and her family and associates.
I found myself drawn into the real history behind the book and it seems that is very well researched. The bibliography at the end along with the Internet has meant that I have been drawn into this fascinating era of the pioneers of early aviation.
There were stages when I felt sorrow and respect for the central character. However there were also parts of the story when I disliked the person. It is for this reason that I think that it is a well written narrative.
I will remember this book for the insight it offers into the social and gender issues which prevailed during this era in history. I particularly liked the way the story explored the effects of the depression on those living in New Zealand.
I will certainly look out for other works by this author.
I think the book was originally published in 2013, but through Netgalley and Aardvark Bureau, I was given the chance to read a forthcoming UK edition in exchange for an honest review.
There are many detailed reviews which chart the details about the novel, so I will not try to repeat what has been written before.
The author, Fiona Kidman has created a beautifully written story which captures the life of Jean Batten and her family and associates.
I found myself drawn into the real history behind the book and it seems that is very well researched. The bibliography at the end along with the Internet has meant that I have been drawn into this fascinating era of the pioneers of early aviation.
There were stages when I felt sorrow and respect for the central character. However there were also parts of the story when I disliked the person. It is for this reason that I think that it is a well written narrative.
I will remember this book for the insight it offers into the social and gender issues which prevailed during this era in history. I particularly liked the way the story explored the effects of the depression on those living in New Zealand.
I will certainly look out for other works by this author.
February 6, 2016
To my shame I knew little about Jean Batten, New Zealand’s most celebrated aviatrix from the early days of flying. This excellent novel from acclaimed NZ author Fiona Kidman is a wonderfully compelling fictionalized biography, meticulously researched, accurate (as far as I can tell, anyway) and fleshed out by Kidman’s imagination to reveal an intriguing and sometimes controversial character and her unusual life. Jean Batten’s achievements as an aviatrix are quite astonishing, as is her determination to succeed. The flying episodes are particularly well described, ratcheting up the tension and allowing the reader to feel part of the experience. I also very much enjoyed the cameo appearances by some of the people Jean Batten met – from Noel Coward to Ian Fleming, the then Prince of Wales to Winston Churchill. It was an endlessly fascinating life and this is an endlessly fascinating and supremely well written novel.
November 10, 2018
Really enjoyed this Audio book .. the telling of the life story of Jean Batten, a New Zealand pilot who succeeded in both achieving and breaking solo flying records in the 1930's and 40's, before the onset of war put an end to her career ..
Although a non-Fiction biography, which has obviously been well researched, I was impressed with the writing style which came across more like a work of fiction and didn't get bogged down with too many finite facts of her life ..
It was lovely to learn about a female pilot I had not heard of before .. the Garbo of the Skies ..
Her elder brother was actor John Batten, see IMBD, who ended his days in Colchester, Essex .. a bit of local history for me to research ..
Although a non-Fiction biography, which has obviously been well researched, I was impressed with the writing style which came across more like a work of fiction and didn't get bogged down with too many finite facts of her life ..
It was lovely to learn about a female pilot I had not heard of before .. the Garbo of the Skies ..
Her elder brother was actor John Batten, see IMBD, who ended his days in Colchester, Essex .. a bit of local history for me to research ..
April 21, 2020
3.5 Stars Audibook.
A great adventure story to listen to. Quaint Kiwi pre-1930s sensibilities in the narration.
This novel is a fictional recount of the life of New Zealand early aviator Jean Batten and her quest to fly her small plane from the UK back to NZ.
She's depicted as quite a selfish Miss, looking for funds with no intention refunding, but she is also committed to her cause.
Ending up living in Jamaica and rubbing shoulders with interesting historical figures as she recounts her WW2 treatment is an excellent way to wrap up this novel.
The narrator kept in engaged throughout, which was excellent for quite a long fictional audiobook.
A great adventure story to listen to. Quaint Kiwi pre-1930s sensibilities in the narration.
This novel is a fictional recount of the life of New Zealand early aviator Jean Batten and her quest to fly her small plane from the UK back to NZ.
She's depicted as quite a selfish Miss, looking for funds with no intention refunding, but she is also committed to her cause.
Ending up living in Jamaica and rubbing shoulders with interesting historical figures as she recounts her WW2 treatment is an excellent way to wrap up this novel.
The narrator kept in engaged throughout, which was excellent for quite a long fictional audiobook.
October 24, 2013
Originally posted on http://booksellersnz.wordpress.com/
Human flight is extraordinary. It’s easy to forget, these days, when commercial flying has become as monotonous as commuting. But to fling ourselves into the sky, to zoom at speed through the air, and to safely land in the place we were aiming for - these are spectacular acts.
Two books recently published bring this to life: The Infinite Air by Fiona Kidman, and One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson. The former is a novel about pioneering Kiwi aviator Jean Batten, the latter is a pop history of the USA in 1927, the year Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic. They’re both excellent.
Opening a Bill Bryson book is like settling down with an old friend for a long, luxurious chat. His books are always packed full of interesting information, but he never sounds like he’s lecturing, simply that he’s happened to come across some wonderful stories that he wants to share with you. His enthusiasm is infectious, and you find yourself becoming immersed in all kinds of things that you had never before considered: baseball scores, historical numbers of US newspapers, the actual amounts of ticker tape in a ticker tape parade. Bryson has that special historian’s delight in discovering connections, uncovering links between Lindbergh and the stock market crash; between Babe Ruth, Al Capone and the invention of television.
The central event of One Summer is Lindbergh’s iconic cross-Atlantic flight, made the more extraordinary the more you learn: his youth, and lack of training; the surrounding disasters; the extreme dangers of early aviation; the limited technology, especially in terms of navigation; the clumsy, primitive aircraft (not even a covered cockpit!). Bryson’s point, though, it not just that Lindbergh was the first person in the world to fly the Atlantic solo; he was the first ever media superstar. The international press was still developing, and Lindbergh was one of its earliest darlings. Column in inches ran to the truckloads across the world; his slightest move was front page news for years. The ticker tape parade in New York City that greeted him after his flight is still the biggest there has ever been. He couldn’t go anywhere without being mobbed - and he hated it.
Cut to 1936 and aviation is still big news. Batten’s record-setting solo flight from England to New Zealand led her to be hailed as the most famous woman in the world. Whereas Bryson’s book is enthusiastically packed with data - engine makes, aircraft design, fuel types - and is firmly placed in the context of US history, Kidman’s novel brings us intimately inside Batten’s head, and keeps us there, torn between admiring fascination and uneasiness.
Batten’s ambition, determination and achievements floor me. Goals for women in her time were meant to centre around marriage and family. Batten instead wanted fame - she wanted to explore the world - she wanted to soar. She wanted to do things not only that no woman had done before, but that no one ever had. And, despite all obstacles, including precarious lack of funds and periods of severe depression, she set off, got the training, scraped together a plane, and triumphed magnificently. In a Bryson-esque twisting together of the histories of famous people, we also learn that Batten knew Winston Churchill, flew at the same airfield as Edward VII, hung out with Noel Coward, chatted with Queen Elizabeth, was ‘adopted’ by Louis Bleriot, and served as a muse for Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel.
Kidman does a superb job of bringing this magnificent tall poppy to life, and we are enthralled by Batten’s victories even as we are repulsed by her aloof selfishness, and pity her intense isolation. The drive that made her succeed bulldozed through her personal relationships, leaving her unhealthily close to her mother and largely friendless, estranged even from her brothers. Ultimately, though, Kidman sympathises: marriage, for Batten, would have meant the clipping of her wings. The men of The Infinite Air are largely boorish and jealous, chiding Batten for her arrogance and withdrawing support as she dares to succeed.
I highly recommend reading these books in tandem. Bryson gives a lively account of the context of early aviation and its global sense of new possibilities, setting out the ways in which certain people and feats became emblems of the ever-increasing possibilities of human daring. Kidman’s beautiful prose and textured characterisation help us experience the freedom of flight, the whoop of joy heard over the roar of cantankerous engines, the sheer miracle of breaking the bounds of gravity. Kidman and Bryson illustrate in glorious technicolour how Batten and Lindbergh aspired, in every sense of the word. I salute them for it.
Human flight is extraordinary. It’s easy to forget, these days, when commercial flying has become as monotonous as commuting. But to fling ourselves into the sky, to zoom at speed through the air, and to safely land in the place we were aiming for - these are spectacular acts.
Two books recently published bring this to life: The Infinite Air by Fiona Kidman, and One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson. The former is a novel about pioneering Kiwi aviator Jean Batten, the latter is a pop history of the USA in 1927, the year Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic. They’re both excellent.
Opening a Bill Bryson book is like settling down with an old friend for a long, luxurious chat. His books are always packed full of interesting information, but he never sounds like he’s lecturing, simply that he’s happened to come across some wonderful stories that he wants to share with you. His enthusiasm is infectious, and you find yourself becoming immersed in all kinds of things that you had never before considered: baseball scores, historical numbers of US newspapers, the actual amounts of ticker tape in a ticker tape parade. Bryson has that special historian’s delight in discovering connections, uncovering links between Lindbergh and the stock market crash; between Babe Ruth, Al Capone and the invention of television.
The central event of One Summer is Lindbergh’s iconic cross-Atlantic flight, made the more extraordinary the more you learn: his youth, and lack of training; the surrounding disasters; the extreme dangers of early aviation; the limited technology, especially in terms of navigation; the clumsy, primitive aircraft (not even a covered cockpit!). Bryson’s point, though, it not just that Lindbergh was the first person in the world to fly the Atlantic solo; he was the first ever media superstar. The international press was still developing, and Lindbergh was one of its earliest darlings. Column in inches ran to the truckloads across the world; his slightest move was front page news for years. The ticker tape parade in New York City that greeted him after his flight is still the biggest there has ever been. He couldn’t go anywhere without being mobbed - and he hated it.
Cut to 1936 and aviation is still big news. Batten’s record-setting solo flight from England to New Zealand led her to be hailed as the most famous woman in the world. Whereas Bryson’s book is enthusiastically packed with data - engine makes, aircraft design, fuel types - and is firmly placed in the context of US history, Kidman’s novel brings us intimately inside Batten’s head, and keeps us there, torn between admiring fascination and uneasiness.
Batten’s ambition, determination and achievements floor me. Goals for women in her time were meant to centre around marriage and family. Batten instead wanted fame - she wanted to explore the world - she wanted to soar. She wanted to do things not only that no woman had done before, but that no one ever had. And, despite all obstacles, including precarious lack of funds and periods of severe depression, she set off, got the training, scraped together a plane, and triumphed magnificently. In a Bryson-esque twisting together of the histories of famous people, we also learn that Batten knew Winston Churchill, flew at the same airfield as Edward VII, hung out with Noel Coward, chatted with Queen Elizabeth, was ‘adopted’ by Louis Bleriot, and served as a muse for Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel.
Kidman does a superb job of bringing this magnificent tall poppy to life, and we are enthralled by Batten’s victories even as we are repulsed by her aloof selfishness, and pity her intense isolation. The drive that made her succeed bulldozed through her personal relationships, leaving her unhealthily close to her mother and largely friendless, estranged even from her brothers. Ultimately, though, Kidman sympathises: marriage, for Batten, would have meant the clipping of her wings. The men of The Infinite Air are largely boorish and jealous, chiding Batten for her arrogance and withdrawing support as she dares to succeed.
I highly recommend reading these books in tandem. Bryson gives a lively account of the context of early aviation and its global sense of new possibilities, setting out the ways in which certain people and feats became emblems of the ever-increasing possibilities of human daring. Kidman’s beautiful prose and textured characterisation help us experience the freedom of flight, the whoop of joy heard over the roar of cantankerous engines, the sheer miracle of breaking the bounds of gravity. Kidman and Bryson illustrate in glorious technicolour how Batten and Lindbergh aspired, in every sense of the word. I salute them for it.
May 11, 2017
New Zealand has produced some truly amazing women over the decades. My all time favourite is Nancy Wake, the Whtie Mouse who was on Hitler's most wanted list. Jean Batten would have to be my second favourite, a marvellous woman who did spectacular feats of flying and survival in the 1930s. If she was a cat, she would have used up a number of those nine lives: her courage and determination were extraordinary, and she became a legend in her own lifetime.
Extraordinary things happen to ordinary people from very ordinary beginnings. Jean's father was a dentist in Rotorua, and she had two older brothers. It was her mother, Ellen, however who became the driver in Jean's early life, the unstoppable force behind Jean's achievements, the two inextricably entwined for the whole of Ellen's life. Much in the same way that Andre Agassi's father exposed his son to tennis glory from birth, so too did Ellen. She put a picture of the first person to fly across the English Channel above Jean's cot, captivating the child from an early age. Unsurprisingly she did become obsessed with flight, eventually becoming the Garbo of the Skies as she was known.
Jean Batten's life story is well known, and very accessible via excellent biographies, as well as Jean's own accounts of her journeys, all of which the author has used in her research for this novel. She has also spoken with descendants of Jean to help provide a fuller picture of this enigmatic and reclusive woman. This novel covers much of the ground in previously published material, but being a novel, has allowed the author to give a very human face to Jean Batten. Because she was so private and gave very little of herself away, hiding behind the very glamorous image she created of herself, very little is actually known of the person herself. Which is a dream scenario for a novelist.
The result is this very readable and enjoyable account of Jean Batten's life, with all the well known milestones and achievements, as well as what happened to Jean once WWII came along, putting an immediate stop to her gallivanting around the world making and breaking flying records. Her life purpose seemed to stop at this point, and the resulting years till her death in 1982 are really rather sad. It shows perhaps that Jean was human, just like all of us, and that sometimes the extraordinary life is not quite what it is cracked up to be.
Extraordinary things happen to ordinary people from very ordinary beginnings. Jean's father was a dentist in Rotorua, and she had two older brothers. It was her mother, Ellen, however who became the driver in Jean's early life, the unstoppable force behind Jean's achievements, the two inextricably entwined for the whole of Ellen's life. Much in the same way that Andre Agassi's father exposed his son to tennis glory from birth, so too did Ellen. She put a picture of the first person to fly across the English Channel above Jean's cot, captivating the child from an early age. Unsurprisingly she did become obsessed with flight, eventually becoming the Garbo of the Skies as she was known.
Jean Batten's life story is well known, and very accessible via excellent biographies, as well as Jean's own accounts of her journeys, all of which the author has used in her research for this novel. She has also spoken with descendants of Jean to help provide a fuller picture of this enigmatic and reclusive woman. This novel covers much of the ground in previously published material, but being a novel, has allowed the author to give a very human face to Jean Batten. Because she was so private and gave very little of herself away, hiding behind the very glamorous image she created of herself, very little is actually known of the person herself. Which is a dream scenario for a novelist.
The result is this very readable and enjoyable account of Jean Batten's life, with all the well known milestones and achievements, as well as what happened to Jean once WWII came along, putting an immediate stop to her gallivanting around the world making and breaking flying records. Her life purpose seemed to stop at this point, and the resulting years till her death in 1982 are really rather sad. It shows perhaps that Jean was human, just like all of us, and that sometimes the extraordinary life is not quite what it is cracked up to be.
July 27, 2016
Fiona Kidman’s The Infinite Air, however, is a most interesting novel. By fictionalising the exploits of Jean Batten, New Zealand’s record-breaking aviatrix, she has created a captivating novel which (if Wikipedia and the bibliography at the back of the book are anything to go by) is a faithful account of Batten’s life. She was an extraordinary woman, who transcended a difficult upbringing to achieve an ambition that was fostered from infancy by her mother, who pinned a newspaper clipping of Louise Bleriot and his monoplane above her cot.
Flying in its early days was an expensive enterprise, and Batten had no money. Her parents separated due to her father’s constant infidelities, and she and her mother lived in straightened circumstances for most of her career. Her father paid for her education, and was keen for her to take up a career as a concert pianist, but when he found out that Jean was having flying lessons instead of music tuition in England he withdrew her allowance. Jean’s mother Nellie, however, was indomitable, and Jean’s ambitions knew no bounds, and their enduring partnership was destined to succeed.
In the pursuit of her ambition, Batten exploited her friendships with men. She was (as you can see from the photo at Wikipedia), a very attractive young woman, and she had a great sense of style. To get the money for flying lessons, flying time, buying planes and repairing them, she became engaged to a number of men when she had no feeling for them, took vast sums of money from them, and ditched them when she no longer needed them. Her real love, apart from one ill-fated romance, was her mother, and when her flying career was over, they lived together, mostly in Spain, until Nellie died.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2013/12/05/th...
Flying in its early days was an expensive enterprise, and Batten had no money. Her parents separated due to her father’s constant infidelities, and she and her mother lived in straightened circumstances for most of her career. Her father paid for her education, and was keen for her to take up a career as a concert pianist, but when he found out that Jean was having flying lessons instead of music tuition in England he withdrew her allowance. Jean’s mother Nellie, however, was indomitable, and Jean’s ambitions knew no bounds, and their enduring partnership was destined to succeed.
In the pursuit of her ambition, Batten exploited her friendships with men. She was (as you can see from the photo at Wikipedia), a very attractive young woman, and she had a great sense of style. To get the money for flying lessons, flying time, buying planes and repairing them, she became engaged to a number of men when she had no feeling for them, took vast sums of money from them, and ditched them when she no longer needed them. Her real love, apart from one ill-fated romance, was her mother, and when her flying career was over, they lived together, mostly in Spain, until Nellie died.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2013/12/05/th...
January 31, 2016
This was my first chance to try out NetGalley, and what a book to begin with!
The Infinite Air is the story of aviatrix Jean Batten, who broke records as a woman pilot in the 1930's. Her life of struggle, both financially and in the male-dominated world of aviation, is beautifully told by the talented Fiona Kidman. Batten's life is chronicled from her difficult upbringing through the challenges of obtaining her pilot's license, speckled with humor, and will have you biting your nails as she attempts to break the women's record for fastest flight from England to Australia.
This is the first book of Kidman's that I've read, and her writing is so vivid that I swear I could feel grit in my teeth as Batten sputtered through the dusty outback. The beginning of the book was slow, and although it is chronicled on Batten's life story, I felt the early years could have been condensed. This was almost a book I decided to give up on because it started out so slow and seemingly pointless when I knew the book was supposed to be about a pilot, but I really wanted to get to the meat of the story before I made my decision, hence the 4 out of 5 star review.
The Infinite Air is the story of aviatrix Jean Batten, who broke records as a woman pilot in the 1930's. Her life of struggle, both financially and in the male-dominated world of aviation, is beautifully told by the talented Fiona Kidman. Batten's life is chronicled from her difficult upbringing through the challenges of obtaining her pilot's license, speckled with humor, and will have you biting your nails as she attempts to break the women's record for fastest flight from England to Australia.
This is the first book of Kidman's that I've read, and her writing is so vivid that I swear I could feel grit in my teeth as Batten sputtered through the dusty outback. The beginning of the book was slow, and although it is chronicled on Batten's life story, I felt the early years could have been condensed. This was almost a book I decided to give up on because it started out so slow and seemingly pointless when I knew the book was supposed to be about a pilot, but I really wanted to get to the meat of the story before I made my decision, hence the 4 out of 5 star review.
March 8, 2016
I won this book as part of a First Reads Giveaway on Goodreads.
I knew absolutely nothing about Jean Batten prior to reading this novel but afterwards I feel like I know her better than half of my close friends.
The writing style is very accessible - especially in respect of some of the more "boring " sections of the book dealing with aeroplanes. (At least boring to me - I am more of a car girl but I am sure plenty of people would prefer aeroplanes!) At times I hated Jean and at other times I loved her. This I think is a reflection of good writing - you should never have a main character who is wholly perfect with no flaws at all. It does not generally make for good or believable reading. Jean at times was a nasty piece of work and it made the story better and more realistic.
The novel is well paced and does not feel overlong at any point. Good characterisation throughout and not too many characters that you start feeling a bit over run by them.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.
I knew absolutely nothing about Jean Batten prior to reading this novel but afterwards I feel like I know her better than half of my close friends.
The writing style is very accessible - especially in respect of some of the more "boring " sections of the book dealing with aeroplanes. (At least boring to me - I am more of a car girl but I am sure plenty of people would prefer aeroplanes!) At times I hated Jean and at other times I loved her. This I think is a reflection of good writing - you should never have a main character who is wholly perfect with no flaws at all. It does not generally make for good or believable reading. Jean at times was a nasty piece of work and it made the story better and more realistic.
The novel is well paced and does not feel overlong at any point. Good characterisation throughout and not too many characters that you start feeling a bit over run by them.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.
September 27, 2022
This was really enjoyable and I learned a lot about Batten’s early life and some of the obstacles she overcame in order to get her career off the ground (ha). My chief complaint is actually that Kidman often fails to really explain the challenges of flying in those days. Most current readers would have only ever flown on jumbo jets for a few hours at a time, and have barely any sense of the technical mastery needed to fly a plane, especially when the technology was so much worse than now. Many of the descriptions of Batten’s flights veered suddenly from “skimming the clouds with a sense of wonder” to “I’m about to die” with absolutely no description of what happened in between. I really had to do all the thinking myself of what it would have been like to sit in the cabin of a plane in those days and make a multi-continent trip. So really a missed opportunity in my view, to bring the flights alive for the reader and thereby get across just how incredible Batten’s achievements were.
April 3, 2019
CW: incest, rape, homophobia, sexism, colonialism
I found this book a little difficult to get into; the early chapters fell between two stools, being rather dry for a novel and too obviously fictionalised for a biography. It did improve, and it's impossible not to feel for the sexism Batten experienced and the unfairness of her wartime experiences, but I did not find her a very sympathetic character, at least as portrayed here. I almost stopped listening at the point where it becomes clear that she prefers the bullying brother who tries to rape her as a young adult to the one whose only offence appears to be that he is gay.
Noel Coward and Ian Fleming make brief appearances, as do Winston and Ada Churchill and members of the Royal family.
I found this book a little difficult to get into; the early chapters fell between two stools, being rather dry for a novel and too obviously fictionalised for a biography. It did improve, and it's impossible not to feel for the sexism Batten experienced and the unfairness of her wartime experiences, but I did not find her a very sympathetic character, at least as portrayed here. I almost stopped listening at the point where it becomes clear that she prefers the bullying brother who tries to rape her as a young adult to the one whose only offence appears to be that he is gay.
Noel Coward and Ian Fleming make brief appearances, as do Winston and Ada Churchill and members of the Royal family.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2020
I “read” this as an audio book, little bits at a time for nearly a month, which is such a different experience to reading. I feel I might have connected more to Jean and her story with a physical book that I could have devoured over a much shorter time. But I love her story - there’s obviously a huge amount of research that has gone into writing this book and, while it is difficult to know how much is factual, I get the sense that the essence of Jean Battery’s life is presented. And what an amazing life she lived. I already knew about the sad way she died, unknown, but it was still so sad to hear it.
A great story that I will be recommending to others.
A great story that I will be recommending to others.
May 5, 2017
A fabulous story that needs to be told... just perhaps not like this. This version lacked passion and energy and seemed to concentrate on facts. I admire Jean for achieving her dream, and her mum for helping her get there, but I felt a lot of sympathy for the men who she used on the way. Perhaps if I was beautiful I might understand this strategy a bit better. The most moving bit was the story of Beverley Shepherd and the love that might have been. I found the writing almost tedious to read, which was such a shame for such an amazing story.
July 11, 2017
An story of one of the early women aviators. Although based on fact I felt the author failed to inject the passion and excitement associated with the amazing feats that the heroine achieved. It was an interesting story but a bit slow . I do think she described Jean's later years well however. There was a sense of despair that came with loss of loved ones and perhaps the tail end of a life that was almost an anticlimax after so much achieved. I have read other books by Fiona and enjoy her characterisations and story telling abilities.
April 20, 2020
Un des plus beaux livres que j’ai lu depuis très longtemps, une écriture sublime pleine d’humour, imagée tout en étant poétique et juste. L’histoire de la Jean Batten est tellement inspirante et me donne à la fois envie de devenir pilote de l’air et de manière plus rationnelle me donne envie de travailler et de me cultiver. Cette Jean est si envoûtante et prenante. Bref, tout plaît dans ce livre, l’écriture, la forces des personnages, les détails concernant les lieux et la technique des avions…
October 22, 2019
Inspiring story based on someone I hadn't heard of before and am glad to learn of her passion, dedication and overruling of what a woman should do in her time. I loved the passages where Jean is flying on her own, out to set some records! So romantic in the thought of all of this in 1930s outfits! Nicely covering her life and yet tightly written.
March 10, 2021
I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading this but I really loved it. Jean Batten is a bit of a prickly character which is something that I quite liked about her. One of the tragedies of her life is the number of people who died (when your friends are all pilots...). It's a quick read and I zipped right through it.
September 15, 2021
I'm so glad I have learned about the life of this NZ hero of the skies. She was a remarkable woman who defied the odds in a man's world to achieve greatness. What a sad ending to her life. Next time I'm at Auckland International Airport, I shall look up at her Percival Gull plane and feel like I got to know her just a little bit.
May 10, 2017
The story of a fascinating life with a sad ending. The writing is often prosaic and the sense of adventure which drove Jean Batten to fly across the globe is not captured in this fictionalized account of her life.
July 10, 2017
An in depth look at the life and times of the mysterious and dashing Jean Batten - heroine of the skies. A really gripping read.
April 25, 2018
This was lovely to listen to. I don't read much biography, but decided that in the hands of a well known writer it might be good ... and it is.
June 5, 2018
Really pleasant read with some great historical information. Fascinating story of an amazing woman!
September 17, 2018
I was pretty ignorant of Jean Batten's feats. Here is a great story of her life and achievements and beautifully written.
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