Douglas Carswell's Blog

West with the Night

I’ve just discovered this remarkable book. Somehow, I managed to go for forty years without previously coming across Beryl Markham’s West with the Night. Until a few days ago.   

A biography of her life in Kenya in the early half of last century, it is an astonishingly beautiful read. I cannot think of many authors I’ve come across who use words quite the same way that she does. She has a remarkable way of describing things.

One reason I so enjoyed this book is that it describes places in the Kenya highlands and Rift Valley that I got to know growing up in that part of the world; Molo, near where I went to school, Njoro and Nakuru, where I used to go camping and riding, Elburgon, where I used to run.

Famous for her solo crossing of the Atlantic in the 1930s, Beryl Markham and her book faded into obscurity until the 1980s when both were “rediscovered”. I suspect people will keep on reading and discovering this book for years to come.

If you have not already discovered this book , I recommend you do.

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