Too Close to the Sun

On Vogue's "Books People are Talking About" list, Too Close to the Sun, The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton, is my new must-read. The NY Times review of the book gives a great glimpse into this wonderful character. As reviewer Florence Williams (of Outdoor Magazine) writes, "It's no wonder Karen Blixen fell madly in love with Denys Finch Hatton. He was arrestingly handsome, intelligent, athletic and courageous. He was a war hero, a pilot and a lover of opera. The younger son of the 13th Earl of Winchilsea, he was equally at ease in the African bush and on the country estate. Immortalized in "Out of Africa" (written under Blixen's pen name, Isak Dineson), he was her artistic muse, but before that he was her escape from the drudgery of a loveless marriage, a failing Kenyan farm and a debilitating bout of of syphilis, thanks to her husband, a feckless baron. Who wouldn't want a swashbuckling lion slayer stopping in between safaris to recite poems and embrace her under the mosquito netting?" 

A recent post from a blog I follow (Habitually Chic) seemed to be referencing the same same love of the African wilderness that D.F. Hatton must have felt. I LOVE these pictures (from "A Shadow Falls"  shot by Nick Brandt).  I can't wait to return to Africa and take some for myself... maybe to show at the Tusk Trust event next fall?? 

A Shadow Falls... Too Close to the Sun... both  on my wishlist.