Donald Pattillo, an accomplished aviation historian, makes his historical fiction debut with the story of a young female journalist, Ellen Hobson. She begins as a newspaper reporter, a field usually not open to women, in her home city of Pittsburgh in 1904. Soon, becoming restless at being limited to covering local news, Ellen gains the opportunity to travel to Dayton, Ohio, in Spring 1905, to report on the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, who claim to have developed a powered flying machine. She meets the rather reserved brothers and is permitted to witness their flying experiments at Huffman Prairie, a field outside Dayton.
Although initially skeptical, Ellen comes to believe in the Wright brothers' work and publishes well-received articles about them and their flyer. She continues her reports over the next four years as the brothers pursue recognition and success, leading them to Washington, Kitty Hawk, and then to Europe. Their path is far from smooth however, as they deal with political difficulties as well as legal challenges to their invention. Ellen's involvement with the Wright brothers changes her life in a way she would never have anticipated, including professional recognition, travel, and, unexpectedly, love.
Prepare for this compelling story of self-discovery, romance, hope, and ultimately, heartbreak, at the dawn of aviation. Donald Pattillo's novel, A Romance of Flight artfully combines credible fictional characters with a detailed factual portrait of the Wright brothers, their family, and their legacy as inventors of the flying machine.