As the US celebrates the anniversary of gaining its independence, we look at a group of intrepid women who took advantage of extraordinary circumstances to seize the lives they wanted. As with World War I, the manpower drain of World War II opened up new opportunities for women to work in fields from which they had previously been barred or restricted. The heroines of this month’s selections used those opportunities to pursue their dreams—most of them in the air.
We begin with GLAMOR GIRLS by Marty Wingate. Growing up on her family farm, Rosalie Wright has longed to fly since her father indulged her with a tenth birthday ride on an airplane from the Traveling Circus. She’s promised lessons by her father when she turns sixteen, but his unexpected death and the advent of World War II put an end to the lessons before she earns her pilot’s license. Her mother feels flying is a vain, foolish ambition; her place is on the farm. But when Rosalie discovers one of her heroines, aviatrix Pauline Gower, is recruiting female pilots to ferry aircraft from field to field, freeing up male pilots for military missions, she applies. Initially turned down because she lacks her license, her persistence eventually wins her a place in the Air Transport Authority, where after her training she begins works as an “Attagirl.” From her base, consulting the Ferry Pilots Notebook she and the other pilots compile that gives details on the idiosyncrasies of the various aircraft, she pilots every variety of plane. Often disparaged, always flying at low altitude by dead reckoning to avoid military airspace, unarmed and without radios, the pilots have to avoid enemy aircraft, bombing raids on the air bases, barrage balloons, and bad weather while enduring disparagement and outright hostility from men who don’t believe they belong in the air. Along the way Rosalie makes friends with fellow “Glamor Girl” pilots, falls in love with dashing RAF pilot Alan Chersey and finds a loyal supporter in one of the male ATA pilots, Snug Durrant. Based on the life of real ATA pilot Mary Wilkins Ellis, Wingate’s tale brings to life the story of these brave women and sheds light on the incomparable but often unsung contribution they made to the British war effort.
Another girl who’s always dreamed of being a pilot is Audrey Coltrane in Noelle Salazar’s THE FLIGHT GIRLS. After convincing her father to teach her to fly a crop duster, she plans to start her own airfield in her native Texas—until World War II intervenes. Volunteering to train military pilots, Audrey is sent to Hawaii, where she meets charming Lieutenant James Hart. She’s actually in the air, training a pilot, when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Sent back to the States, Audrey joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots program, which like the ATA in Britain, used women to ferry planes from base to base—a calling that, along with the friendship of her fellow pilots, keeps her going when she learns James is missing in action. As well as transporting regular aircraft, the women flew experimental planes, damaged planes needing repair, and repaired planes being sent back into service, along the way surviving aircraft that fell apart, crashed or caught fire from engine problems. Despite their courage and loyal service, top brass never truly believed in their worth, and before the war ends, the WASPs are disbanded, never receiving recognition or pensions. Salazar’s stirring epic demonstrates how, despite their lack of recognition, for the women who flew, the comradery and sense of doing something vital for the war effort made the dangerous job well worth it.
Another group of women who provided invaluable service in the air is featured in Danielle Steel’s FLYING ANGELS. Audrey Parker has just finished nursing school when Pearl Harbor catapults the US into war. Eager to do their part, Audrey and her friend Lizzie enlist in the Army and join the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron. Along with fellow nurses Alex, Louise, Pru, and Emma, the women regularly fly into enemy territory to rescue wounded soldiers and keep them alive during the journey back for medical treatment. Despite low pay and little recognition, the bond between the nurses and their implacable dedication to saving the men under their care propels them onward, fighting fatigue, fear and danger to complete their missions. Steele’s novel shines a bright spotlight on a group of courageous and little-known heroines.
Our final selection, A NEW YORK SECRET by Ella Carey, is a home-front story where war allows a woman to escape her “traditional” life and fulfill her dreams. In mid-1942, Lily Rose persuades her wealthy parents to allow her to work as a chef at Valentino’s, one of New York’s finest restaurants. Unbeknownst to her parents, one of the attractions is fellow chef Tom Morelli, grandson of Sicilian immigrants. Tom and Lily embrace the challenge of wartime rationing, working together to create meals that tempt the palate despite the shortages. But Lily’s perfect life takes a devastating turn when Tom is drafted into the Italian army. Even worse, Lily’s mother finds out about their relationship and issues an ultimatum: give up this unsuitable man, quit her job and prepare to marry a suitable New Yorker at war’s end—or be cut off from her family and disinherited. Her choice is made even more difficult when she discovers Tom is missing in action. Should she hold on to her hope for a future with him, keep her job, turn her back on her family—and risk losing everything? Though the eyes of her enterprising heroine, Carey’s novel gives a fascinating view of upper-class New York society, the restaurant business, and life on the home front during World War II.
Whatever dream you may seek to fulfill, this month’s selections will have you cheering for these intrepid heroines to succeed in achieving theirs!
Real, intense, passionate historical romance
Award-winning romance author Julia Justiss, who has written more than thirty historical novels and novellas set in the English Regency and the American West, just completed her first contemporary series set in the fictional Hill Country town of Whiskey River, Texas.
A voracious reader who began jotting down plot ideas for Nancy Drew novels in her third grade spiral, Julia has published poetry and worked as a business journalist.
She and her husband live in East Texas, where she continues to craft the stories she loves. Check her website for details about her books, chat with her on social media, and follow her on Bookbub and Amazon to receive notices about her latest releases.
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