The Swallow; a novel based upon the actual experiences of one of the survivors of the famous Lafayette Escadrille

New York: Boni and Liveright. Very Good+. 1919. First Edition. Hardcover. (no dust jacket) [dust-soiling to top edge of text block, otherwise just a lightly worn copy with the tiniest touch of fraying to cloth at base of spine; attractive vintage bookplate ("Ex Libris - Nell A. Shedd") on front pastedown]. The subtitle pretty much says it all: the book covers its protagonist's entire experience in the Great War, from enlistment through being shot down in combat, and his period of recovery in a French hospital. The author gave her flyboy hero a fictional name, of course ("Richard Byrd," no relation to the well-known polar aviator and later Rear Admiral), but there are plenty of specific and theoretically verifiable details of his exploits: the date on which he was shot down in combat is given as June 18, 1916; he is referred to as "the first American aviator to be severely wounded--for France"; and he's awarded the Croix de Guerre. (Would the author really have lied about the latter?) On top of which, there were only a few dozen Americans who flew for the Lafayette Escadrille (not all of whom survived the war), so unless the author is falsifying the entire underlying premise of her book, then theoretically it ought to be possible to research the identity of this fellow's real-life counterpart. But I'll leave that to you. .