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Gini's Book Review

Lady Flyer by Heather B. Moore

Heather B. Moore, Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2024, $21.28, hb, 9781639932955.

1927. Houghton, Michigan.

Nancy Harkness broke all the rules as she snuck away from her private school and went flying, then barnstorming in the pursuit she coveted above all: flying. Undaunted by her instructor’s death and her own head injury because of a crash, Nancy’s life followed the development of aviation in the early
twentieth century, preparing Nancy’s key role as leader of the WAFS, then serving in the WASP during World War II.

Her affection for her fellow women pilots, and her rivalry with Jacqueline Cochran created headlines and Nancy became,along with other firsts, the first woman to fly a B-27 Flying Fortress as part
of the ferrying program as the US ramped up its participation in WWII. She was witness to tragedies that often outweighed her triumphs as she observed the crashes and deaths of numerous colleagues.

Lady Flyer reads more as non-fiction than fiction; that is, the author provides an encyclopedic knowledge of names and dates about the history of American flight and the role of women aviators who led the way to establishment of the Ninety-Nines and other women’s flight organizations striving to establish and maintain a solid role for women in American aviation.

The author’s depth of research and love of subject matter is evident as she plumbs Nancy Harkness Love’s desire to see American women break gender barriers that would have allowed women a greater
role as ferry pilots and pursuit pilots in active duty during WWII.

The novel serves as a reminder to contemporary women of the struggles and hardships women
endured as they battled to gain the freedoms to serve as equals to men in the
aviation industry and today’s military.
--Gini Grossenbacher (This and other book reviews appear quarterly in the Historical Novels Review Magazine. Check out Gini's other book reviews for fun.)