The Test Pilot's Wife (Unabridged‪)‬

The Test Pilot’s Wife is the bittersweet saga of Lura Lee Dunn and WWI flying ace Eugene Hoy Barksdale. Written in the spirit of The Aviator’s Wife and The Second Mrs. Astor, this historical fiction novel features cameos from such notable characters as Jimmy Doolittle and Amelia Earhart.

WWI is waning in Europe, but Lieutenant Barksdale’s near-constant aerial combat missions have taken their toll. Homeward bound, his physical wounds are healing, while haunting mental wounds linger.

Lura Lee Dunn is an aspiring concert pianist whose own personal battle is just beginning. The women’s suffrage movement is on the rise, emboldening her to break free from her prominent father’s outdated expectations. Unexpectedly, at a posh Hollis House gala, she meets a young pilot, one just home from fighting the Jerries over France. There is no ignoring Barksdale’s quick wit and Southern charm. But try as she might to avoid the young aviator, Lura finds herself drawn to him.

Barksdale quickly rises in the ranks as one of America’s top test pilots. Soon, Lura hears accounts of the young pilot’s dramatic exploits—breakneck aerial races, parachuting from planes, and so many death-defying crashes—that the man seems to border on the suicidal.

Lura readies to leave—to study at Chicago’s renowned Perfield Music School. Tying her fate to the enigmatic pilot will only bring disaster into her life. But even as dark clouds form in the skies above, she cannot ignore the pull, or the need, to stay.