© 2022 Shelley Adina Chapter 1 Saturday, October 12, 1895 8:20 a.m. “Propriety?” Freddie Linden’s voice rose in disbelief. “Papa, after all we have been through to find you—facing death at gunpoint, near drowning, to say nothing of keeping ourselves and you out of gaol—your concern now is propriety?” Professor Ruldolf Linden gazed at his younger…

Napoleon’s invasion of England is hidden in the clouds… It is 1819, and Cornwall is agog at the daring of the two young lady aeronauts who, earlier in the summer, flew nearly to France and back in their homemade air ship. Much more is riding on Loveday Penhale and Celeste Blanchard’s new and improved vessel—they…

Where and when does this book take place? That’s the question many a writer has asked herself right after she types “Chapter One.” But for Regina and me, the setting was probably the easiest choice, once we decided that we’d be combining the real (Sophie Blanchard really was Napoleon’s Chief Air Minister) and the fictional…