8 h 17 minAudiobook12 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
War and distance stand between a woman in flight and the people she loves.
In The Flight of Beate Hoyermann, Thea von Harbou places a woman far from home at the center of an urgent adventure. Beate faces an escape across continents, with war and separation pressing upon her. The road tests her courage, her wits and her loyalties, while the pull of home gives her journey its emotional weight.
This is a story of movement, suspense and strong feeling. Distance is more than ground to cross: it keeps Beate apart from those she loves. As she travels, the wish to return home stands against the dangers of flight. Von Harbou brings that tension into a story for readers who want both outward adventure and personal stakes.
What you’ll discover
- A woman under pressure Follow Beate as the demands of flight put her courage and judgment to the test.
- An escape across continents Travel through an adventure where distance separates a heroine from the people she loves.
- War and separation Explore the strain of being far from loved ones under the pressure of war.
- The pull of home Discover how longing for home gives this journey a deeply personal sense of purpose.
- Suspense with strong feeling Find a story whose quick movement keeps emotional stakes close to the action.
Who will love it
Readers who love adventure on a world map, journeys by ship, sleigh and aeroplane, and stories of marriage under pressure. It also suits anyone curious about how the First World War looked to those far from Europe.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A happy marriage and a watched island
- Fire, warning and a murder in a temple
- A husband leaves and a wife decides
- A stewardess, a cruiser and a stoker
- Rescue, Cairo and a night at the Pyramids
- Winter in Russia and a flier who plays with death
- Arrest, the cell and a rescue by night
- The chase and the flying machine
- How the book is told
- Love, home and the price of courage
Who’s who
- Beate HoyermannA brave, quick-witted young German wife who has travelled the world with her husband and will do anything to reach her homeland.
- Gerhard HoyermannBeate's husband, a former German officer who wants to rejoin his regiment and goes ahead alone.
- Christian TystendalA dry, calm Swedish friend and war correspondent who helps Beate plan her escape despite his doubts.
- Kyrill PetulikowA gentle Russian who builds flying machines, lives under the shadow of his dead brother and wants his mother's love.
- Lisa PetulikowaKyrill's widowed mother, who worships her dead elder son and relies on her nurse Kate Mathew.
- Nathan LöbA Jewish curio dealer whose family Beate once helped and who risks his life to repay her.
- DmitriKyrill's old servant, who watches his master fly and prays that he will not throw his life away.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 17 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 12 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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La fuga di Beate Hoyermann
Stranded in Japan as war breaks out, Beate Hoyermann sets out on a flight home that crosses three continents.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Flight of Beate Hoyermann is a novel by Thea von Harbou, who wrote it during the First World War as a tribute to a woman's courage and to the pull of home. It follows Beate, a young German woman, and her husband Gerhard, a former officer, as they travel the world for pleasure and find themselves cut off in Japan when war breaks out in Europe.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A happy marriage and a watched island
The story opens in Japan, on a small island called the Garden of the Friend. Beate rides through the crowded streets in the jinrikisha of her runner Akira, who is locked in a comic feud with his rival Mosaku. She has always learned the language of each country where she and her husband stay, and she has learned to love Swahili, Arabic habits and Japanese temples.
The reader learns how the couple came here. Gerhard Hoyermann served as an officer and then in the colonial troops in German East Africa, until fever sent him on long leave. After a short stay at home, the two decided to see the world. They crossed America in search of the Wild West they knew from boyhood tales, and came on to Japan. They call each other Lioness and Bear, and they share every thought.
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What is The Flight of Beate Hoyermann about?
A German woman is stranded in Japan with her husband when the First World War begins. After he leaves to fight, she follows by ship, through Egypt and Russia and finally by air, determined to reach home.
Who is Kyrill Petulikow in the book?
Kyrill is a gentle Russian who builds flying machines and travels with his widowed mother. He befriends Beate and calls her Masha.
Is The Flight of Beate Hoyermann a true story?
It is a work of fiction, written by Thea von Harbou during the First World War. It uses real events such as the outbreak of war and the sinking of ships, but its characters and plot are invented.
The author
Thea von Harbou
1888–1954 · German screenwriter and novelist
Thea von Harbou (1888–1954) was a German novelist and screenwriter. She was born in Tauperlitz, Bavaria, and died in Berlin. She wrote the novel Metropolis and worked on the screenplay for Fritz Lang’s film of the same name, released in 1927. She also wrote screenplays for other films directed by Lang.
More by Thea von Harbou
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