What Is The Plot Summary Of 'Great Circle'?

I just finished 'Great Circle' and the story blew me away. It follows Marian Graves, a fearless female aviator in the mid-20th century who disappears during a daring attempt to circumnavigate the globe pole-to-pole. The novel alternates between her tumultuous life—from being orphaned in Montana to becoming a bush pilot in Alaska and a WWII transport flyer—and a modern-day Hollywood actress named Hadley who's cast to play Marian in a biopic. Hadley's research uncovers secrets about Marian's final flight that change everything. The writing makes you feel the wind in the cockpit and the weight of Marian's choices—especially her forbidden love affair that mirrors her rebellious spirit. The parallel timelines create this electric tension between past heroism and present-day rediscovery.

'Great Circle' is this masterpiece of historical fiction that weaves together two extraordinary lives across time. The core follows Marian Graves, an aviation pioneer whose 1950 disappearance during an unprecedented flight mission becomes legendary. Her backstory is epic—raised by a drunken uncle in Prohibition-era Montana, she escapes through flying, becoming one of the few female pilots of her era. The novel details her wartime service ferrying planes under fire and her complex relationship with a female artist that society wouldn't accept.

In contemporary LA, disgraced actress Hadley Baxter lands the role of Marian in a film and starts uncovering disturbing parallels between their lives. Hadley's chapters read like a detective story as she pieces together Marian's final days, realizing the official narrative is full of lies. What makes the book special is how Shipstead contrasts Marian's raw, physical world of flight with Hadley's curated Hollywood existence—both women are trying to break free from expectations, just in different centuries.

The aviation sequences are breathtakingly technical yet poetic. You learn about celestial navigation and engine failures alongside Marian's emotional journey. The ending reframes the entire novel in a way that left me staring at the wall for an hour—it's that powerful. If you like hidden histories of remarkable women or stories about defying limits, this belongs on your shelf next to 'The Signature of All Things' or 'The Nickel Boys.'

Maggie Shipstead's 'Great Circle' is more than an adventure novel—it's a meditation on freedom and the stories we inherit. The dual narrative structure hooks you immediately. Marian's sections feel like vintage Hemingway with their crisp descriptions of danger and desire, whether she's smuggling liquor during Prohibition or navigating Alaskan storms. Her determination to fly the impossible 'great circle' route mirrors her refusal to conform to gender roles or sexual norms of the 1940s.

Hadley's modern storyline adds meta-commentary on how we mythologize figures like Marian. As she digs through archives and interviews survivors, the script she's acting in starts rewriting itself. The novel cleverly plays with truth versus legend—Marian's plane wreckage was never found, leaving room for conspiracy theories and alternate endings. Shipstead also nails the aviation details without overwhelming readers; you'll finish knowing how to read cloud formations but also understanding why Marian needed the sky to feel whole. For similar immersive historical fiction, try 'The Weight of Ink' or 'The Air You Breathe.'