Elinor Florence, Author

Bestselling Historical Fiction Author

Bird’s Eye View

A Toronto Star, Globe & Mail, and Amazon Bestseller

Bird’s Eye View is sold out and pending reissue.

Contact Elinor Florence for info about availability.

Synopsis

Bird’s Eye View, a national bestseller, is the unforgettable story of an idealistic young woman who joins the air force when her town in Saskatchewan becomes a British Commonwealth Air Training Base during the Second World War. She travels to England, where she trains as an aerial photographic interpreter. Working with hundreds of other intelligence officers at a converted mansion in England called RAF Medmenham, Rose Jolliffe spies on the enemy from the sky, watching the war unfold through her sterescope. With her almost supernatural skills of detection, she solves several critical mysteries. Meanwhile, Rose is lonely and heartsick, far away from her beloved prairies. Her only connection to her past are the letters from family and friends on the home front. Bird’s Eye View has wartime history, action, drama, mystery and romance. In June 2016 it was listed as one of the top ten Canadian fiction bestsellers in both The Globe & Mail and The Toronto Star newspapers. (To read one thrilling chapter, click here: Bird’s Eye View Excerpt). 
Bird’s Eye View, Chapter One
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Discussion Guide

Reader Reviews

“Bird’s Eye View is the kind of historical novel I always hope to find, but seldom do. I started reading it for its subject matter, with my pen and notebook at my elbow, but I was drawn into the story of Rose Jolliffe immediately. I read it right through supper and on into the night, not stopping to take down one note.”

— Billie Milholland, author of Under the Maidenhair

“This debut novel is filled with drama, romance, and plenty of colourful Canadian wartime history.”

— BC Booklook

“While the story may be one of fiction, Florence hasn’t escaped her reporting past, with large amounts of research and historical facts surrounding her characters.”

— Penticton Western News

“Everything Florence writes is vividly alive, but those who remember VE-Day will feel it’s 1945 on reading this story.”

— Charlottetown Guardian

“I laughed; I cried; I remembered; and I learned! The author has a wonderful talent for expressing a woman’s emotions, fears, and intuitions in these wartime circumstances that we have been exposed to from men’s perspective forever.”

— Irene Liston, Amazon Reviewer

“I learned more about British and Allied wartime intelligence here, than in any other book I’ve read on the subject.”

— Terry Chamberlain, Rural Roots

“This novel is more than historical fiction for addicts. Its alluring storyline, rich prose, vivid description and captivating pace kept me glued to every word until I reached the final chapter.”

— Toni Osborne, Netgalley Reviewer

My Inspiration

What sparked your interest in World War Two?
First and foremost, it was my mother, June Light Florence. She was a teenager in Battleford, Saskatchewan during the war. The community housed a very large air training base under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. She had first-hand experience of the war on the home front, and the lives of the young men from all over the Commonwealth who were training to go overseas. She lost both her fiance and her brother in air force training accidents.
Attractive young woman with curly dark hair, wearing a printed pink and blue blouse, smiles shyly at the camera.
How did you choose your subject?
I knew I wanted to write about a Canadian woman in uniform, because it had never been done before. I interviewed as many female veterans as I could find. Many of their stories had never been told before. I learned about their extreme desire to help the fighting men, not to bring the enemy to its knees, but to end the bloodshed on both sides.
Row of young women wearing blue air force uniforms with skirts, jackets and peaked caps stand at attention, looking very serious.
Why aerial photo interpretation?
I became interested in aerial photographic interpretation when I stumbled across an old photograph of a woman in an air force uniform studying an aerial photograph through a stereoscope. I began to research the subject and realized that it was a little-known branch of Allied Intelligence which had never been publicized. In fact, photo intelligence played an integral role in the Allied victory, and women made very good interpreters because of their attention to detail.
Woman in air force uniform seated at a table studying an aerial photo through a stereoscope, rows of negatives hanging on a string overhead, and a man in an air force uniform standing behind her studying a paper in his hand.
Was your protagonist inspired by a real person?

Rose was inspired by the hundreds of women who served as aerial photo interpreters, including Constance Babington Smith, a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force who discovered the first V-1 flying bomb on a photograph. Read more here: The Woman With the X-Ray Eyes.

Aerial photo interpreter, attractive, dark-haired Constance Babington Smith in her air force uniform, uses her pointer to describe a large aerial photograph on an easel.
Where did the photo interpreters work?

This lovely mansion is located about an hour west of London, England. During the war it was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force, renamed RAF Medmenham, and used as the headquarters for aerial photographic interpretation. Today it is a luxury hotel called Danesfield House Hotel. Read more here: Medmenham: Where the Magic Happened.

White stone mansion with square turret, bay windows, and crenellated roof surrounded by trees and green lawns.
Have you visited Danesfield House Hotel?

You can imagine my delight at being invited to speak at the hotel special Victory in Europe Day anniversary celebration in 2022. I had the great pleasure to stay in the place I had so often imagined, soak up the atmosphere, and meet others who were just as interested in aerial photo interpretation. It was one of the highlights of my long career. Read more here: Danesfield Dream Come True.

Author Elinor Florence with brown hair and glasses wearing a black dress and hat stands at the podium in front of a huge white marble fireplace, addressing a crowd.

Lest We Forget

While writing Bird’s Eye View, I interviewed dozens of veterans. My research into the Second World War resulted in more than 100 true stories that are published on my website, indexed by subject.

See the list here, and please read, reflect and share: Lest We Forget.

Bird's Eye View Cover by Elinor Florence
  • Publication Date: 2014
  • Trade Paperback
  • 384 pages
  • ISBN-13: 978-1459721432

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