CHASING THE BLACK EAGLE
Against a backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance and Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia, a young man tails Hubert Julian — a pilot, inventor, adventurer, charlatan, and possible threat to America.
Facing an attempted murder charge, seventeen-year-old Arthur Tormes is in no position to refuse when a federal agent named Riley Triggs offers him a deal: all charges get dropped and Arthur goes free if he agrees to help the Bureau with a problem.
That problem is Hubert Julian, a.k.a. the Black Eagle of Harlem: inventor, pilot, parachutist, daredevil, charlatan, and one of the most extraordinary and popular figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
Against a backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance and Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia, a young man tails Hubert Julian — a pilot, inventor, adventurer, charlatan, and possible threat to America.
Facing an attempted murder charge, seventeen-year-old Arthur Tormes is in no position to refuse when a federal agent named Riley Triggs offers him a deal: all charges get dropped and Arthur goes free if he agrees to help the Bureau with a problem.
That problem is Hubert Julian, a.k.a. the Black Eagle of Harlem: inventor, pilot, parachutist, daredevil, charlatan, and one of the most extraordinary and popular figures of the Harlem Renaissance. For Triggs, it’s the popularity that makes Julian a serious threat to the well-being of America.
To win his freedom, Arthur begins a spying mission that will occupy the next thirteen years of his life, taking him from 1920s New York City to Ethiopia on the verge of war — often at great personal cost. In the end, while America remains safe, Arthur Tormes’s fate is less certain.
- Dundurn Press
- Paperback
- May 2023
- 376 Pages
- 9781459750593
Buy the Book
$19.99
About Bruce Geddes
Bruce Geddes is the author of one previous novel, The Higher the Monkey Climbs (2018). His short fiction has appeared in the New Quarterly, Blank Spaces, and the Freshwater Review. Born in Windsor, Ontario, he currently lives in Kingston.
Praise
“From Port of Spain to Harlem, to Addis Ababa, Chasing the Black Eagle takes us on an intimate journey, spanning decades and exploring intertwined lives. Bruce Geddes is a master storyteller with an incredible ability to take us to dizzying heights, be it on the wings of the Black Eagle taking flight or to harrowing truths found in the underbelly of racism, anti-colonial fights, betrayal, including the worst of all, when one goes against themselves. A thoroughly enjoyable encounter of friendship, survival and above all, the human spirit.” –Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr, author of I Am Because We Are: An African Mother’s Fight for the Soul of a Nation
“A novel that juggles genres — spy, noir, coming-of-age, romance — with charm, wit and seemingly effortless grace.” — SPENCER GORDON, author of Cosmo
“Bruce Geddes is a brilliant storyteller, and Chasing The Black Eagle is an absorbing historical adventure, featuring huge characters, bracing thrills, and captivating deceptions. International in range, and epic in scale, this is a fast-moving, atmospheric novel and, at the same time, the moving story of a young man’s extraordinary passage to adulthood. You don’t want to miss the journey; you won’t ever forget the book.” –Damian Tarnopolsky, author of Goya’s Dog
“An action adventure, a love story and a hard-boiled noir thriller all rolled up into one. Meticulously researched and artfully paced, Chasing the Black Eagle is a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era, introducing the reader to a captivating and complex cultural figure, Black aviator Hubert Julian. Masterfully adept at metaphor and possessing an incisive eye for descriptive detail, Geddes skillfully transports the reader to another time and place brought vividly to life.” –Shawn Syms, author of Nothing Looks Familiar
“A novel about bootlegging, blackmail, and the struggles of love, Chasing the Black Eagle is a wide-ranging and compulsive read full of wonderful characters.” –Dennis Bock, author of Going Home Again
“Geddes has produced a rare feat: the literary page-turner.” –Andrew Kaufman, author of Small Claims
Discussion Questions
1. Is Hubert Julian a hero? Or a scoundrel?
2. Are Arthur Tormes and Hubert Julian friends? Are Arthur and Sergio Pratti friends?
3. Arthur has plenty of opportunities to escape the grip of Riley Triggs. Why doesn’t he flee?
4. Discuss the role of freedom in the novel.
5. Jean Fox tries to explain her party-girl behaviour as part of a search for something. She never really defines it. What do you think she was looking for? How does that search relate to her parents’ deaths?
6. Hubert Julian had an up-and-down relationship with the press. Sometimes they loved him, sometimes they hated him, sometimes they ridiculed him. How does the celebrity culture in the novel compare to our own era?
7. How would Hubert Julian’s life be different if he’d been white?
8. While under Triggs’ control, Arthur’s behaviour has significant collateral damage to people he cares about. How much of the blame lies with him?
9. Discuss the role of responsibility in this novel.