The Flying Circus

by Susan Crandall

  He studied her for a moment. Would Cora ever again see him as more than “family”? He’d sworn to himself he wouldn’t push her. Love wasn’t something that could be demanded. For now, he was happy to share her life in whatever way she was willing. On the day he’d been released from jail, the day they’d learned of Gil’s death, he’d vowed that he was going to spend every moment that disaster did not come to call thankful for what he did have.

  Today he had the family of the flying circus—and a daredevil still holding his heart.

  Epilogue

  July 1970

  Henry took off from Schuler Field in a plane of his own design, one that he had built with his own hands. The airstrip had no control tower, so he kept his eyes on the sky around him for other aircraft. The very idea of “air traffic” had been laughable back in the day. As had the term experimental aircraft. Time was when all aircraft were an experiment of one sort or another. Now it was law: EXPERIMENTAL had to be clearly printed on the side of a home-built plane. It irked him. Lots of things irked him these days. Maybe his sons were right, he’d lived too long.

  He thought of the purpose of his flight today. He’d definitely lived too long.

  The Experimental Aircraft Association youngsters flocked to hear his stories of the growth of aviation, which had gone from birth to landing on the moon in less than Henry’s lifetime. But it wasn’t the same anymore. Too many rules.

  Federal regulations had crept up on them three years after Gil’s death. Accidents had drawn the eyes of the bureaucrats. They’d taken their lessons from disaster and hit fast and hard. By 1928, they’d hammered the last nail in the flying circus’s coffin. It was a blessing that Gil hadn’t lived to see his beloved free-flying aircraft bound by so many restrictions.

  “All right,” Henry said under his breath. “Let’s break some rules.” He looked over to the passenger seat at the biggest rule breaker he’d ever known. The box containing Cora’s ashes sat where she’d spent so many hours, always doing something while they were cruising along, a crossword, reading—usually tales of groundbreakers and true adventure. She said flying had gotten so boring that she didn’t know why anyone bothered anymore. At forty she’d taken up mountain climbing. Henry had followed along.

  He dipped well below minimum regulated altitude and opened the window. Cows still inhabited Cora’s uncle’s field, and he briefly wondered how long Tilda had remained one of them.

  Yesterday, he’d knocked on the door of the old farmhouse and had made his unusual request. The young farmer had looked puzzled until Henry explained his wife’s family had owned the land. The farmer had given his permission with a murmur of sympathy.

  He held the box in his lap as he made two passes over the field. He cried, even though he’d promised Cora he wouldn’t.

  “Good-bye, my love. Until we meet on this field again.”

  The ashes fell in a gray trail, disappearing far too quickly.

  Henry made one more pass and then regained legal altitude. He’d planned on flying for a while, just to let the memories play over him in solitude. But his heart was too empty, his soul too tired. He returned to the airstrip.

  As the wheels touched the smooth, paved runway, Henry saw his and Cora’s sons, Gil and Anders, waiting by the hangar. He said a prayer of thanks that he was still a part of a flying family, even though its makeup was vastly altered since the day he’d seen a motorcycle and a biplane in a reckless race that changed his life forever.

  Acknowledgments

  I owe a debt of gratitude to many for their assistance in the creation of this novel. It might not take a village to create a book, but it does take a team. First and foremost, thanks to my patient husband, Bill, for accepting my mental absences on the days I did not “come home” from 1923; and to my family for their endless support.

  I have been extraordinarily lucky to have had my fabulous editor, Karen Kosztolnyik, as a partner on yet another book. This is our eleventh collaboration and I hope we will have at least eleven more. Your critical eye and sharp insight, as well as your friendship, make my writing life so much richer.

  Working with the team at Gallery Books is a writer’s dream. Thanks to all whose hands have touched this project, especially Jen Bergstrom and Louise Burke, who both believed in this book even before it was a fully formed idea in my head.

  Thanks to my critique partners, Wendy Wax and Karen White, for keeping me on the rails. I’m so incredibly fortunate to have such talented writers to share in my creative process. It was great fun going through the frenzy of three simultaneous deadlines. Hope we get to do it again . . . it really kept me in the zone.

  My father, Vic Zinn, was a private pilot who preferred flying low and slow with the wind in his face. I had the wonderful experience of flying with him in several different aircraft. Although my knowledge was rudimentary, as a teen I learned about tail draggers and tricycle gear, ailerons, elevators and rudder, trim tab and air speed. Of particular help in creating this book were our flights in a tandem-cockpit Piper J-3 Cub with the door open—closest I’ve come to flying in an open cockpit. To this day I’m sorry I disappointed him by being his only child who never learned to fly. (Congratulations to Tom and Sally for fulfilling his dream.) I also was lucky enough to have gone to the amazing Oshkosh Fly-In with him multiple times, where I was able to get up close and personal with old warbirds and the pilots who love them. Dad’s been gone for many years, but I’ll never forget his love of flying and machinery—and his ability to create the functional from scavenged pieces and parts. These experiences gave me invaluable insight into Henry’s character.

  Because my knowledge of flying and aircraft is so pitifully limited, I reached out to several pilots, who were kind enough to fill in the many blanks. Thanks to my nephew Bryan Zinn for your speedy and detailed replies and not ever laughing at my questions. Larry Jacobi was kind enough to let me crawl all over his vintage Stearman biplane and answer an evening full of questions. And a special thanks to Brian Karli, who lovingly restored a “Jenny” (Curtiss JN-4) and shared all of the finer details of the craft so that my depiction may be as accurate as possible. I am indebted to you all. Any aeronautical errors in this book are mine alone.

  My depiction of life in 1923 was fueled by hours of enlightening research and complimented by conversations with my mother, Marge Beaver Zinn, who shared what she recalled from her parents’, aunts’, and uncles’ stories. I am so lucky to have you in my life.

  A few historical disclaimers need to be mentioned: The January air race in Miami and the December aerobatic competition and air race at Clover Field are fictional. Such air meets were quite popular in the twenties. Some were short sprints, as I’ve described; some were long distance. In those early days, they were frequently deadly. Clover Field and Douglas Aircraft were in Santa Monica in 1923. Cliff Henderson did have a Nash dealership in Santa Monica and, according to my research, did offer an airplane ride with the purchase of a new car. I have no idea how many takers he had. He did also organize a stunt team called the Black Falcons, who performed regularly at Clover Field.

  While the silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released in 1923, it did not play at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre that year.

  I made a concerted effort to keep my story framed by historical fact. Belle’s supper club was inspired by an establishment of family lore and was definitely not located in Williamson County, Illinois.

  This is a work of fiction, filled with fictional characters. Please forgive any literary license employed in the telling of this tale.

  Gallery Readers Group Guide

  The Flying Circus

  Susan Crandall

  Introduction

  Mercury’s Daredevils is a group of disparate characters who come together to perform as high-flying stunt pilots—known as barnstormers—traveling across the American Midwest in the 1920s. The group is comprised of Henry “Schuler” Jefferson,
the newly orphaned son of German immigrants; Cora Rose Haviland, a bold young woman from a once-prestigious family; Charles “Gil” Gilchrist, a troubled WWI veteran pilot; and Mercury himself, a scrappy mutt who enjoys riding in motorcycles almost as much as he relishes stealing food.

  Circumstances bring Henry, Cora, and Gil together, and shared ambitions help to solidify their bond. They form a makeshift family as they crisscross America’s heartland, drawing increasingly larger crowds with their death-defying airborne acrobatics. But each of them hides a complicated past that could jeopardize their relationship, and, as time goes on, they realize that telling the truth may pose the most dangerous risk of all.

  Questions and Topics for Discussion

  1. We know from the opening chapter of The Flying Circus that Henry has been accused of a crime, but Crandall doesn’t reveal the facts about Emmaline’s murder until much later in the story. How did your impression of Henry evolve as you discovered more about his backstory? Did your feelings about his guilt or innocence change at any time?

  2. What does flying mean to Henry, Cora, and Gil respectively? What does it help them achieve—or escape from?

  3. Crandall writes, “Gil’s acknowledgment that [Cora] was every bit as much a daredevil as he was coming hard and slow. Henry thought perhaps it was compounded because their motivations for taking life in hand were so different.” Discuss the nature of Gil and Cora’s risk-taking. What drives them to perform stunts, and how do their motivations evolve over the course of the novel?

  4. One of the major themes of The Flying Circus is the balance between bravery and vulnerability, and how these two characteristics are often two sides of the same coin. Discuss how Henry, Cora, and Gil exhibit both qualities over the course of the novel. Ultimately, which character do you think is the most courageous?

  5. While Henry urges Gil to open up about his experiences in WWI, ultimately he’s not sure if talking is actually therapeutic. “Henry had been prepared for the horror,” Crandall writes. “He hadn’t been prepared for the rush of shame he felt for pushing Gil into painful memories; shame and sympathy.” What is your take on Gil’s reticence? What do you think the novel has to say about PTSD in general?

  6. WWI casts a long shadow over The Flying Circus, but the novel addresses prohibition, women’s rights, and civil rights as well. How does historical context influence the course of events in The Flying Circus? How would Henry, Cora, and Gil be different if they lived in contemporary America?

  7. The complicated dynamic between Cora, Henry, and Gil drives much of the tension in the novel. In your opinion, what draws Henry and Gil to Cora, and vice versa? Do you think that Gil and Cora might have made a good match?

  8. Why do you think Crandall decided to tell the story from Henry’s point of view? How would The Flying Circus be different if Gil or Cora had narrated the story?

  9. Crandall writes, “Gil’s permanent absence proved to be more of a wall between them than his presence had ever been.” Why does Cora pull away from Henry after Gil’s death? Would you have reacted in the same way?

  10. Do you think Gil committed suicide, or was the crash an accident? Why or why not?

  11. Crandall writes, “It was a blessing that Gil hadn’t lived to see his beloved free-flying aircraft bound by so many restrictions.” Do you think that the antics of barnstormers were reckless? Did The Flying Circus impact how you view aviation?

  12. Why do you think Crandall chose the William Butler Yeats poem as the novel’s epigraph? Did its meaning change for you after you had finished reading The Flying Circus?

  Enhance Your Book Club

  1. Has your book group read other historical novels? How did The Flying Circus compare?

  2. Watch a classic movie about barnstorming with your book club (i.e. Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies or The Great Waldo Pepper). Compare and contrast the film’s portrayal of aviation with that of The Flying Circus.

  3. Gil’s struggle with PTSD still is, unfortunately, a serious problem for today’s war veterans. Visit a site like http://www.uso.org to learn ways to support troops coming home from combat.

  4. Learn more about the author by visiting her website (http://susancrandall.net/), and by following her on Twitter (@susancrandall) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSusanCrandall).

  A Conversation with Susan Crandall

  What was your inspiration for writing The Flying Circus?

  The first thing I was seeking when setting out on developing this story was a time in history when our country was in the throes of change, much as in the 1963 setting for Whistling Past the Graveyard. After much research I found my way to the 1920s. So many things were in transition: the emergence of the middle class, women’s rights, the fallout from the Great War, Hollywood movies, mass media and its influence on the development of our first youth culture. We had ceased to be isolationists in both our private and national lives. And, of course, there was the fascination with aviation.

  My dad was a flier (private pilot, an active member in Experimental Aircraft Association, built airplanes in our little garage and actually flew them). So I had some experience flying—and living with a man who loved machines and the sky. The passion I witnessed fueled the beginnings of Henry Schuler.

  What sort of research did you do to write the novel?

  With this story, I didn’t have the benefit of my own childhood memories of the time period, so the research was much more extensive than for any book I’ve undertaken. Of course I relied upon books and old periodicals and research on the war, Hollywood, social issues, news headlines, aviation, attitudes, fashion, daily life and all. I probed my mother for stories that her parents and aunts and uncles had shared of that time period. I reached out to the pilots I know (unfortunately my father passed in 1989—if only I’d had him as a resource!) to help fill in my aviation knowledge gaps. And the crown jewel of my research was the discovery of a man who’d actually restored a Curtiss JN-4, “Jenny.” He was instrumental in helping me understand the machine, as well as fill in the small details of the craft that fleshed out the flying experience.

  Barnstormers and flying circuses both brought excitement to small towns and cities all across this country. It was a brief and colorful moment in history, lasting barely ten years before regulations changed the aviation landscape.

  Which character was the most fun to write? Which was the most challenging for you?

  The fun factor is always high with canine characters, so Mercury was a joy—even with his nonexistent dialog. I loved writing Cora from Henry’s point of view, how he saw her in the context of what he knew about the “fairer sex” and the lessons he learned about life from her very different socio-economic background.

  Gil was the most difficult character for me to write, not in terms of the actual writing but in crawling inside his tortured soul. People who carry the kinds of emotional burdens Gil does always make for a heartbreaking journey as a writer.

  The novel’s epilogue is set decades after the final chapter. How do you envision Henry and Cora’s life unfolding in the intervening years?

  Oh, I think Henry and Cora experienced extraordinary lives, even for the changing times in which they lived. I doubt that all days were sailed on calm (or even calm-ish) seas, but neither of them would be happy and fulfilled in calm, ordinary lives. Adventure brought them together and adventure would see them through their days.

  Like The Flying Circus, your previous novel, Whistling Past the Graveyard, depicts characters who are on the run, so to speak (in that case, two unlikely friends on a road trip through the 1960s South). What attracts you to characters who have left their daily lives behind?

  Maybe I’m just living vicariously, because I’m a real homebody.

  More seriously, I love writing about people who are searching for their place in the world, and knocking them out of familiar surroundings is a great way to kickstart change. I think once you’re out of your “natural habitat” you’re forced to look at yourself (
and the world around you) in a much different context.

  As a historical fiction writer, you have inhabited many different time periods in your novels. If you could live in any time period, which would you choose?

  I think I’d like to live in a time when there were frontiers to be conquered, and they could still be conquered by ordinary people whose most valuable asset was their own resourcefulness. To forge into new arenas of knowledge and untouched land would be incredible.

  Luckily, as a writer, I get the opportunity to “live” in many different time periods.

  Who are your biggest literary influences? What inspires you to write?

  I’m a very eclectic reader. I love character-driven narratives. Of course Jane Austen comes to mind for her clear insight into people’s hearts. I adored Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove and Stephen King’s The Stand, as well as his short story, “The Body” (which was turned into the movie Stand By Me). Recently I’ve been quite enamored by the quirky and interesting characters of Matthew Quick ( Silver Linings Playbook and The Good Luck of Right Now ).

  Who would you cast in the movie version of The Flying Circus?

  Oooh, I think Jennifer Lawrence would make a great Cora, perfect combination of toughness, adventuress and femininity. (You can see I’m aiming high here!) For Gil . . . maybe Scott Eastwood or Henry Cavill. And dear Henry, I honestly don’t have a clue—someone young, fair, tall, and amazingly talented.

  What are you working on next?

  I’m just now in the dithering and exploring stages of my next novel. I always start with creating my characters. I have a great family dynamic all figured out. At this moment, I think they’ll embark upon their adventures in two different time frames, 1965 through 1975 and 1983-ish. But that could all change tomorrow.