Too Close to the Sun

January 1, 2007
A superlative athlete with an enormous capacity for friendship and a chronically underachieving, charismatic loner with eternal wanderlust, Denys Finch Hatton (1887–1931) emerged as an iconic figure in the memoirs of two lovers, Karen Blixen's Out of Africa
and Beryl Markham's West with the Night
. In childhood, this earl's son—who would later reject the trappings of worldly success, saw his family fortune depleted, developed a passion for hunting from a nonconformist uncle as well as an appreciation for strong, artistic women like his mother—found Eton a "youthful paradise," says Wheeler, hat made it possible for him "to believe in the African dream." The nonconformist in him was drawn to the freedom the Dark Continent promised; after settling in East Africa, he fought on the WWI battlefield there and later became a hunter shepherding rich clients. Hatton, who died when the plane he was piloting crashed, left no diaries and his inner life remains unknowable, as Wheeler (Cherry
) acknowledges, yet in this thoughtful, satisfying work, she masterfully captures his allure through the memories of others and through her deft interpretation of both his East African and British milieus in the tumultuous years surrounding WWI. Photos.

May 1, 2007
Denys Finch Hatton may be best known as the character Robert Redford portrayed in "Out of Africa", which was adapted from the book by Finch Hatton's longtime lover Karen Blixen (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen). In this biography, Wheeler ("Travels in a Thin Country") aims "to depict a figure in a landscape, to explore the universal themes threaded through his story and to find out why he was an engine of myth." Freedom and danger charged Finch Hatton's life: he left England for South Africa in 1910 and then for the British East Africa outpost (Kenya) in 1911, became a pilot, served during World War I in Kenya and Iraq, and developed his guiding skills as a big-game hunter. Years after he died in a plane crash, many friendsincluding Prince Edward (later Edward VIII), whom Finch Hatton guided twice on safaristill remembered him as a charming dilettante. Wheeler's striking descriptions of East Africa, including Kenya and the Rift Valley, create a rich sense of place and time. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2007
Denys Finch Hatton has achieved a measure of fame as the lover of Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) as portrayed in her memoir " Out of Africa" . Much has been written about their relationship, and the film version, with Robert Redford portraying Finch Hatton, has added to public interest. Wheeler, in a well-written and engrossing biography, focuses on the full span of Finch Hatton's life. He was born into a family of "fallen" British gentry who were, typically, land rich but cash poor. As a youth, he seemed a "golden boy" with a bright future; he was strikingly handsome, a superb athlete, and blessed with immense personal charm. Yet part of that charm was an intriguing but frustrating aloofness. Even in Kenya he found it difficult to sustain commitment, as his prolonged but erratic affair with Blixen illustrated. This thoroughly enjoyable work casts a light on an attractive but enigmatic figure, but a true understanding of him remains tantalizingly out of reach. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)