Terrific, all three parts
It consists of three titled sections, the first historical, the second fictional and, the third, most affectingly, memoir. Each is linked implicitly as well as symbolically by hot-air balloons.
The opening part, ‘The Sin of Height’, considers the history of balloon flight, deemed unpardonable in its early incarnation for its apparent trespass on God’s domain but treated admiringly here as a quest for freedom, adventure and enlightenment. The cast includes Fred Burnaby, a fanatical oversized aeronaut who crossed the Channel in 1882 in a craft called the Eclipse; the daredevil French actress, Sarah Bernhardt; and Gaspard-Felix Tournachon, otherwise known as Nader, who pioneered aerial photography. Following on from this is a piece of short fiction, entitled ‘On the Level’, which imagines an imbalanced love story between the smitten Colonel Burnaby and the unfortunately less-enamoured Madame Bernhardt.
