The Adventures of Miles and Isabel - by Tom Gilling (Paperback)

About the Book

A "New York Times" Notable Book of the Year, Gilling's "wonderful and magical" ("Library Journal") novel is set in turn-of-the-century Sydney. A bestseller in Australia, it follows the strangely converging lives of two young daredevils united by a dream of flight and true love.

Book Synopsis

Selected by The New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year, Tom Gilling's novel opens in a crowded playhouse in 1856 Sydney, Australia, where two spectacular lives are about to start. During her scandalous turn as Hamlet, a heavily pregnant (and unmarried) actress unexpectedly goes into labor onstage, shocking the audience. Indeed, one patrician spectator -- who is also with child -- is so moved that she too goes into labor. The babies born that night are Miles and Isabel, two dreamers destined to defy convention -- and gravity. The Adventures of Miles and Isabel is a delightful novel set in rough-and-tumble, turn-of-the-century Sydney. A best-seller in Australia, it follows the strangely converging lives of these two young daredevils. United by a dream of flight -- and true love -- the couple attempts to rise above the obstacles of class and physics that stand in their way.

Review Quotes

"Fantastical and magical, this novel is peppered with humor and the excitement of a time period laden with anticipation and opportunities for the creative, restless minds of innovation."