THE SPLENDID OUTCAST


In 1936 a British society lady flew the reverse of Charles Lindbergh's historic flight. Beryl Markham was the first person to fly from Europe to North America. After this feat she fell into obscurity. Before the flight she was a daring woman who had affairs with important male figures of her day. Beryl Markham lead a bold life atypical of women, society ladies or not.

Beryl Markham was born in Asheville, England. Her father, a horse trainer, relocated to Kenya and took young Beryl with him. When she was 17 her father moved to Peru and Beryl took over his horse farm. She married three times, taking the last name of Markham, from her second husband, as her own. She had one son, Gervase. She had affairs throughout all of her marriages, and became the Mistress of Prince Henry, brother of Edward, Prince of Wales (who abdicated the throne for Wallace Simpson.) They met while Prince Henry was on safari in Kenya. Her husband threatened to name the prince as a co-respondent in their divorce case. As that  would have caused quite the scandal, the prince gave her husband hush money, but insisted 1500 pounds be placed in an account for Beryl, assuring her a 500 pound yearly annuity. She befriended Baroness Karen Blixen, and Blixen's lover Denys Finch-Hatton, eventually having an affair with him. In fact it was Denys Finch-Hatton who taught her how to fly.

In 1936 no person, man or woman, had flown from Europe to North America across the Atlantic Ocean solo non-stop. Markham had 2,000 hours as a bush pilot in Kenya to her credit. On September 4, 1936 she dressed in warm clothes leaving off a life jacket. She packed chicken sandwiches, trail mix, five flasks of tea, and a flask of brandy. She flew off in a plane with a troubled air lock system into bad weather. She had 3,600 miles to cover, with 2,000 being open ocean, and dark skies surrounding her. She recorded her thoughts as she flew. 

She had planned to stop and refuel quickly in Canada, then fly to New York. Her engine began to sputter and she crashed landed in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Two farmers came to her rescue and she told them "I'm Mrs. Markham. I've just flown from England." They took her to a local farmhouse where she asked for a cup of tea (very British.) She called the airport to notify them of the crash, then called for a taxi. She had completed her task, although slightly off course. She felt like a failure. The motorcade into New York City and the awaiting suite at the Ritz-Carlton told her otherwise. Beryl Markham proclaimed "America is jolly grand."

The hub-bub quickly died down. Beryl Markham drifted into obscurity. She continued to train horses. Beryl Markham rarely mentioned her historic flight. She wrote a memoir - West of the Night. She also wrote a collection of short stories, titled The Splendid Outcast. Beryl Markham died in 1986, a forgotten first female of flight.

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