West Over the Waves

Book excerpt: Glamorous heiress Elsie Mackay could have lived her life in the social whirl of high society, partying with princes and dancing with dukes. Instead this wilful young woman was determined to pursue her dreams - eloping with a dashing soldier, starring on the silver screen, and designing the luxurious interiors of ocean liners. But her greatest passion was for aviation, still in its infancy in the 1920s, and her burning ambition was to become the first woman to not only fly the Atlantic but to cross those unforgiving waves by the most challenging route - east to west - against the prevailing winds. Not only were the odds stacked against her but she knew her father, the shipping tycoon Lord Inchcape, would do everything in his considerable power to stop her.Journalist Jayne Baldwin uncovers the forgotten story of the bold and beautiful woman who blazed a trail across newspaper headlines, high society and who loved the heady mix of speed and danger that marked the early days of aviation.