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Great Circle

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Great Circle

By: Maggie Shipstead
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Alex McKenna
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2021

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022

I was born to be a wanderer.

From the night she is rescued as a baby out of the flames of a sinking ship, to the day she joins a pair of daredevil pilots looping and diving over the rugged forests of her childhood, to the thrill of flying Spitfires during the war, the life of Marian Graves has always been marked by a lust for freedom and danger.

In 1950, she embarks on her life's dream - to fly a Great Circle around the globe, pole to pole. But after a crash landing, she finds herself stranded on the Antarctic ice without enough fuel. With one fearsome piece of water separating her from completion of the Circle, she writes one last entry in her logbook.

She is ready for her final journey.

Half a century later, Hadley Baxter, a brilliant, troubled Hollywood starlet is irresistibly drawn to play Marian Graves, a role that will lead her to probe the deepest mysteries of the vanished pilot's life.

Great Circle is an enthralling journey over oceans and continents and a drama of exhilarating power. Combining unforgettable characters and thrilling suspense, it is a sweeping story of loss and obsession, sacrifice and survival, of the unknowable mysteries of freedom, love and life itself.

©2020 Maggie Shipstead (P)2020 Penguin Audio
20th Century Historical Fiction World Literature Fiction Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Aviation War Native American Mystery

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Critic reviews

"Ferociously clever." (Guardian)

"Joyously good." (Daily Mail)

"Impressive." (Jeffrey Eugenides)

All stars
Most relevant
Utterly absorbing. A family history, intertwined in great circles. Two women finding their way in worlds not so different. But totally different.
The narrators capture the characters perfectly. And be prepared to want the world for both of them: Marian and Hadley

Fly. Fly to the horizon

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Loved it. Beautiful epic story, well researched, excellent narrator. Highly recommend. Top contender for the booker prize.

Brilliant

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I am a fan of expansive novels, and fascinated by the author's ability to create worlds, characters, and events.

Maggie Shipstead displays raw and unadulterated talent in this book. Every character, even if they are only present in one scene, is described vividly. Despite being 25 hours long, there are few if any wasted sentences.

The two narrators fit their storyline.

The story spans from the 1800s to current day. I was eager to hear how the two story lines would meet and merge. Shipstead did not disappoint.

Well written, well narrated.

Expansive novel with we written characters

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Really wonderful, wide reaching, fascinating story. Really well narrated.
Such deeply drawn characters, they all felt so real and I was totally absorbed in their world.
Fantastic.

Hugely, hugely worth your time

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Amazing central characters, great story, very well written, what more needs to be said?

Brilliant Story!

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