Today’s Adventure: Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening, by T.J. Brown
10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable
Adventures. With
every “Today’s Adventure” post between August 1 and August 13, you can register
to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce
winners on August 14. You may enter today’s giveaway and the grand prize at
T.J.’s blog, http://teribrownbooks.com/tjblog/.
You’ll find links to all the authors below--follow any of them to keep up with
the latest adventures.
And now, T.J. on WWI Women and Their Flying Machines:
And now, T.J. on WWI Women and Their Flying Machines:
Come Josephine in my flying machineGoing up she goes! Up she goes!Balance yourself like a bird on a beamIn the air she goes! There she goes!Up, up, a little bit higherOh! My! The moon is on fireCome Josephine in my flying machineGoing up, all on, Goodbye!(lyrics by Alfred Bryan, original music by Fred Fisher, first published 1910)
Aeroplanes play a big part in the
Summerset Abbey trilogy and the eldest sister, Rowena, becomes a volunteer
pilot in World War One. Did I stretch the truth too far or did I not go far
enough? Through my research I found that
while the numbers were small, there were women who flew actual combat and
reconnaissance missions during the war and many more who worked in aeroplane
production. The following women were pilots during the war when aircraft
technology was in its earliest stages:
Helene
Dutrieu flew reconnaissance flights from Paris to check on German troop
movements.
Marie
Marvingt flew bombing missions over Germany and was probably the first women to
fly actual combat missions.
Russia
had several such daring aviatrixes: Princess Eugenie M. Shakovskaya, Helen
P. Samsonova, Princess Sophie A. Dolgorukaya and Nadeshda Degtereva all flew
during the war, though in different capacities.
It’s important to remember just what a
fledging science aircraft actually was. For the first two years of WWI, the
average life expectancy for pilots was 10-15 days to three weeks due to the
rushed training and the rapid increase of the quality of German planes.
In Summerset
Abbey: Spring Awakening, Rowena volunteers to
transport newly built aeroplanes, as well as flying key officials, to various military bases. When the series
begins, Rowena is diffident and a bit lost. She is searching for her purpose in
life. When she takes to the air for the first time as a passenger, she knows
immediately that she has found it. Flying becomes her passion and she does most
of her growing as a character while in the air. Volunteering for the war effort
gives her adventurous spirit an outlet and changes her outlook on life.
Don’t forget to enter at T.J.’s
blog, http://teribrownbooks.com/tjblog/.
Keep up with the latest adventures and chances to win through any of the
authors:
Alison Atlee, The Typewriter Girl Facebook
Jessica Brockmole, Letters from Skye Facebook
T.J. Brown, Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening Facebook
Sarah Jio, The Last Camellia Facebook
Susanna Kearsley, The Firebird Facebook
Katherine Keenum, Where the Light Falls
Stephanie Lehmann, Astor Place Vintage Facebook
Kate Noble, Let It Be Me Facebook
Deanna Raybourn, A Spear of Summer Grass Facebook
Lauren Willig, The Ashford Affair Facebook
