SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION and THE BOOKER PRIZE
A ROYAL READING ROOM PICK 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA GOLD CROWN
THE NEW YORK TIMES AND TIMES BESTSELLER
TIME MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR

'A gripping historical adventure that feels sharp, fresh and modern'
STYLIST

'So beautiful, so daring, so complete'
TAYLOR JENKINS REID

'A masterpiece'
NIGELLA LAWSON

'Luminous, masterful. Glides seamlessly through the 20th century, immersing the reader'
TELEGRAPH, Best Fiction of 2021

'How deeply we care about each of these people. Extraordinary'
NEW YORK TIMES

'Wonderful. Memorable characters and vivid storytelling'
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MAGAZINE

'A tour-de-force'
DAILY EXPRESS

A soaring, breathtakingly ambitious novel that weaves together the astonishing lives of a 1950s vanished female aviator and the modern-day Hollywood actress who plays her on screen.
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From her days as a wild child in prohibition America to the blitz and glitz of wartime London, from the rugged shores of New Zealand to a lonely iceshelf in Antarctica, Marian Graves is driven by a need for freedom and danger.

Determined to live an independent life, she resists the pull of her childhood sweetheart, and burns her way through a suite of glamorous lovers. But it is an obsession with flight that consumes her most.

Now, as she is about to fulfil her greatest ambition, to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole, Marian crash lands in a perilous wilderness of ice.

Over half a century later, troubled film star Hadley Baxter is drawn inexorably to play the enigmatic pilot on screen. It is a role that will lead her to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh and spellbinding light on the story of the unknowable Marian Graves.
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'Extraordinary' NEW YORK TIMES

'Full of adventure, passion and tragedy' THE TIMES

'Soars from the very first page' SUNDAY EXPRESS

'Luminous, masterful. Glides seamlessly through 20th century history' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Breathtaking' OBSERVER

'Impressive and gripping' SUNDAY TIMES

'Surprising and moving at every turn' GUARDIAN

'Audacious and Immersive' DAILY MAIL

'Accomplished and ambitious' FINANCIAL TIMES

Readers

The New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle

‘Joyously good’ DAILY MAIL

‘A ferociously clever comedy of manners’ GUARDIAN

‘A wise, sophisticated and funny novel about family, fidelity, class and crisis’ MARIE CLAIRE

‘A well-observed, hilarious, yet moving novel’ WOMAN & HOME

New York Times bestseller and winner of the 2012 Dylan Thomas Prize and 2012 L.A. Times First Novel Prize

The Van Meters have gathered at their family retreat on the New England island of Waskeke to celebrate the marriage of daughter Daphne to an impeccably appropriate young man. The weekend is full of lobster and champagne, salt air and practiced bonhomie, but long-buried discontent and simmering lust seep through the cracks in the revelry.

Winn Van Meter, father-of-the-bride, has spent his life following the rules of the east coast upper crust, but now, just shy of his sixtieth birthday, he must finally confront his failings, his desires, and his own humanity…

‘Maggie Shipstead is a hugely talented young writer – definitely one to watch’ GRAZIA

‘Distinctive and dazzling … The world has found a remarkable, humane new voice to explain us to ourselves’ Allison Pearson

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AND 2022 WOMEN'S FICTION PRIZE-SHORTLISTED GREAT CIRCLE

'The same chilling brilliance of Daphne du Maurier's most unsettling short fiction' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Has an innate charm of its own. Beautifully realised' DAILY MAIL

'It's a rare writer who can create a world as convincingly over a few pages as in a 600-page novel; Shipstead's fluency in both forms is testament to the skill she modestly casts as a work in progress' Stephanie Merritt, GUARDIAN

'Maggie Shipstead combines cinematic scope with a poet's attention to detail' THE TIMES

A collection of sparkling award-winning stories from Maggie Shipstead, epic storyteller and astonishing chronicler of the daring and the damaged. Diving into eclectic and vivid settings, from an Olympic village to a deathbed in Paris to a Pacific atoll, and illuminating a cast of unforgettable characters, Shipstead traverses the ordinary and extraordinary with cunning, compassion, and wit.

Meet the silent cowgirl and horse wrangler escaping an ugly home life, only to fall into a decade-long triangle of unrequited love; a male novelist who is just reckoning with his own pretentiousness as his debut novel goes to print; a honeymoon couple's time in the hills of Romania builds into a moment of shattering tragedy. In the title story, a famous child actress breaks away from a religious cult, as she tells - with brittle candour - her tale of childhood damage and the dark side of fame.

Exuding both tenderness and bite, Shipstead exposes complicated truths in this dazzling collection sealing her reputation as an astonishingly versatile master of fiction.
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'Shipstead is a writer who can vividly summon whatever she chooses, taking the reader deep inside the world she creates' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Shipstead observes people beautifully' THE TIMES

The New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle

‘Brilliantly written; the first ballet novel for grown-ups’ THE TIMES

‘A bravura display of high-performance art’ GUARDIAN

‘Brims with emotion … an accomplished novel embracing both domestic drama and the competitive quest for perfection’ SUNDAY TIMES

Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a young American dancer who helps a Soviet ballet star, the great Arslan Rusakov, defect in 1975. A flash of fame and a passionate love affair follow, but Joan knows that, onstage and off, she is destined to remain in the shadows.

After her relationship with Arslan sours, Joan decides to quit ballet and make a new life for herself. But as the years pass, Joan comes to understand that ballet isn’t finished with her yet…

From the prize-winning author of Seating Arrangements comes an exquisitely written, fiercely compelling glimpse into the demanding world of professional ballet and its magnetic hold over two generations.

‘Cleverly constructed with some elegant pirouettes of its own’ DAILY MAIL

‘A gripping mix of family drama and insight into the world of ballet’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘Shipstead is a gifted writer who examines families and relationships in a poignant, insightful way’ STYLIST

‘A dazzling story rooted in the competitive world of dance’ WOMAN & HOME

‘So graceful, so dazzling, so sure-handed and fearless, that at times I had to remind myself to breathe’ Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette

‘I will be paying close attention to Shipstead’s career from here on in’ Jeffrey Eugenides

In den Weiten des Himmels gibt es keine Grenzen

Marian Graves ist ein Wildfang von Kindesbeinen an. Im heimatlichen Montana sucht sie stets das nächste Abenteuer und scheut keine Gefahr. Besonders angetan hat es ihr das Fliegen – sie träumt davon, über den Wolken zu schweben. Aber um ihr Ziel zu erreichen, muss sie Hindernisse meistern und Opfer bringen. 1950 startet Marian den Versuch, als erste Person die Erde in der Längsachse zu umrunden. Doch in der Antarktis verschwindet sie und lässt nur ein Logbuch zurück.

2014 verkörpert die skandalerschütterte Hollywoodschauspielerin Hadley Baxter die Rolle der zum Mythos gewordenen Marian Graves und begibt sich auf die ganz eigene Spurensuche dieser ungewöhnlichen Frau.

»Ein mitreißender Pageturner, der mühelos einmal um die Welt und durch das 20. Jahrhundert fliegt.« Thomas Hummitzsch, Der Freitag

»[...] So ist ›Kreiseziehen‹ ein toller und facettenreicher Roman, nicht nur, aber vor allem über zwei Frauen, die sich mit den für sie vorgesehenen Rollen nicht begnügen.« Bettina Baltschev, Deutschlandfunk

Die van Meters haben zu einer Familienfeier in ihrem Sommerhaus auf einer der vornehmen Ostküsten-Inseln eingeladen. Anlass: Die Hochzeit von Tochter Daphne mit einem vernünftigen jungen Mann. Hummer und Champagner, die Atlantikluft und Geselligkeit bestimmen das Wochenende, aber inmitten der Feierlichkeit treten längst vergessene Unzufriedenheiten und schwelende Begehren zutage.

Familienvater Winn Van Meter hat sich sein Leben lang an die Regeln der Oberschicht gehalten, aber nun, kurz vor seinem sechzigsten Geburtstag, muss er seinen eigenen Fehlern und Sehnsüchten endlich ins Gesicht sehen. Ein frischer, witziger und offensiv ehrlicher Roman über die Gefahren, die einem vermeintlich richtigen Leben im falschen innewohnen.

Ein fesselnder Tanz um Liebe, Leidenschaft und Lebenslügen

Joan steht der Abschied vom Ballett bevor: Sie ist schwanger und ihre Karriere als Tänzerin wahrscheinlich beendet. Sie heiratet Jacob, und das Paar zieht aus New York an die Westküste, wo sich beide stumm nach der Welt des Balletts verzehren: Joan nach dem Tanz, Jacob nach der Tänzerin, die Joan gewesen ist.

Doch ein Leben für den Tanz bedeutet nicht nur Drama, sondern auch hochfliegende Hoffnungen, erhabene Momente.