More Than a Beauty Chorus

I always imagined Evie as part of the pre-war flying club scene – it was a world of private planes, fast cars, horses and skiing for the girls who the male pilots christened ‘the beauty chorus’. In creating Evie I very much had her real-life counterparts in mind – people like Audrey Sale Barker who crash landed in Africa and gave a Masai warrior an SOS note written in lipstick to pass on to the nearest Mission. The ATA girls were often young and glamorous but they were also brave and skilful pilots — in one day they could fly anything from a Spitfire to a huge bomber, and all without radios or arms. They weren’t all party girls either – there were people like Megan who could fly a plane, but not drive a car, or young mothers like Stella (one of the women was even known as the Flying Grandmother). I grew to admire them immensely.

I did a lot of research, and was lucky enough to be in touch with a remarkable ATA ‘girl’ now in her 80s. She went on to have a second wartime career in espionage – the true stories of these women are so remarkable, it was great fun creating their fictional counterparts. Evie came first of all the characters, and the inspiration for the whole story came from an obituary for one of the women I read in a flying magazine. When I read that she had flown Spitfires during the war, I just had to know more. We have several pilots in the family, including WW2 Lancaster pilots, but I had never heard about the ATA. I thought ‘why don’t people know about the incredible work they did?’

Maybe all stories start that way, with a question, and wanting to know more. My next novel is about the International Brigades and women who fought and worked as war photographers and nurses during the Spanish Civil War. It was inspired by the years we spent living in Valencia – I wanted to know why people were so reticent talking about the War. It has been fascinating, but heartbreaking to research and find the answer.

To sustain a long novel I think you have to really want to answer these questions badly. Like a lot of women I juggle work and family, and my husband’s often away for long stretches travelling all over the world – writing has to be fitted in around family life, and to finish a novel you really have to make the time to write. At the end of a long day once the children are asleep, it has to be a good story to get you racing to your desk to write all night rather than put your feet up. These girls, who were so much more than a ‘beauty chorus’, inspired me. It was a story that had to be told.

Selected reviews

‘The Beauty Chorus is a story of love and adventure, of loss and pain, and heroism. I can already see the movie.’ — The Daily Mail

‘Drawn from the home front diaries of the second world war, is Kate Lord Brown’s rip-roaring The Beauty Chorus… the research is played light and as a result the book soars as if it had a pair of Merlin engines strapped to its covers.’ — The Spectator

‘A captivating story of adventure, romance, loss and heroism.’ — You Magazine (Mail on Sunday), Reading Group Book of the Week

‘A wonderful, escapist, nostalgic read.’ — Red Magazine ★★★★

‘The novel is a page turner with real historical insight.’ — Aviation for Women, Women in Aviation International

‘This atmospheric debut novel tells the little-known story of the ATA girls.’ — Voyager Magazine, best new reads

‘Kate Lord Brown’s book is a wonderful read. Once picked up, it is hard to put down. It is a gripping read and it will make a wonderful film.’ — Terry Holloway, Royal Aeronautical Society Magazine