The story in one page
Gwenna is a young woman caught between traditional expectations and the modern obsession with aviation. She finds herself drawn to Paul, an engineer more devoted to his flying-machine than to social life. Her friend Leslie, a sharp-tongued strategist, attempts to spice up the romantic tension through manipulation. As Europe descends into the First World War, the couple marries in haste before Paul departs for France. Their union, unconventional and breathless, ends in the sea, leaving those left behind to reconcile the brilliance of their short lives with the permanence of their departure.
Who's who
- Gwenna
A mountain-bred girl who falls in love with an aviator.
- Paul
An ambitious inventor obsessed with building his own aeroplane.
- Leslie
Gwenna's fashionable friend who treats romantic pursuit like a tactical game.
- Uncle Hugh
A clergyman who worries about his niece's lack of domestic planning.
What it's really about
- Aviation
- The machine as a jealous, competing lover.
- War Marriage
- Romantic urgency dictated by the threat of deployment.
Why it's memorable
- A young inventor neglecting a dance to work on his plane's Fourth Dimension.
- A laurel wreath drifting down the Thames to honor a lost pair of lovers.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Leslie drops a laurel wreath into the river as a final tribute to Gwenna and Paul, whose lives ended in the sea. She notes their short but intense years with bittersweet longing.
For your book club
- Is the plane a rival or a reflection of the pilot's character?
- How does the war force the characters to drop their social games?