Press & Media
From Jounalism to Fiction
Awards
Interviews
Writing Out Loud: Interview of Theasa Tuohy
2015 Newseum Washington, DC 'Inside Media: The Press and Vietnam'
My Interview with It Matters Radio Kenneth Weene.
Author of The Five O'Clock Follies interviewed by David Bradley
Features
Op-Eds & Interviews
The U.S. is celebrating the wrong anniversary for the Vietnam War
Until we acknowledge the conflict’s real start, we can’t come to terms with the origins or our nation’s involvement. Read it here
Covering Vietnam, in fiction Q&A
Theasa Tuohy’s interest in Vietnam was piqued when she found a book on the war in the slush pile while writing for Newsday. Read it here
Reviews
See what the Critics and Readers have to say
Freelance writer Angela Martinelli arrives in Saigon in 1968, wearing her “greenness” in the form of high-heeled shoes and a gorgeous mane of red hair. As one of the few women correspondents in a war zone, Angela is greeted with misogyny, skepticism or disdain by her male colleagues, except for Nick, who works for a Chicago newspaper and gives her the benefit of the doubt. She soon proves her merit and bravery in the middle of a covert operation in Cambodia, surviving capture by the Viet Cong, living in a bunker during a siege and chasing truths that the military denies and her fellow reporters doubt. Angela also finds romance in the midst of this chaos; eventually she must choose: her career or love… An engrossing portrait of a woman among men in wartime.
“Despite its name, Flying Jenny‘s historical novel is not a tale of barnstorming pilots and their planes. Or rather, it isn’t only that tale. On the one hand, Theasa Tuohy has written a 1929 Thelma and Louise – with more humanity and a rosier outlook… Flying Jenny is the kind of highly detailed historical fiction that reels in the reader by enticing us with both the differences and the similarities of then and now.” – D. Ferrara, At The Inkwell book reviewer.
In her brilliant debut novel, longtime daily journalist Theasa Tuohy captures the essence of what drives those who go into war armed only with a camera, notebook, and pen. At a time when women rarely dreamed beyond careers as nurses, teachers or secretaries and certainly not as news reporters, a tall, enigmatic redhead arrives in Saigon. She is an object of great interest to the male correspondents, one of whom reports she arrived at Tan Son Nhut Airport wearing high heeled bikini shoes. Few take her seriously as a reporter… Not since Graham Greene has anyone captured so well the tedium and terror of reporting on war.
Books in Brief – Vietnam Veterans of America – I was in Saigon during much of that period, and spent some time on Tu Do Street and in and out of the Caravelle and Continental Hotels where many of the scenes of this novel take place. The author nails this milieu precisely. Nice job. It’s almost as though Theasa Tuohy had been there at the time.
A thoroughly engrossing story. There is no retro-history, no political agenda here…There are wonderful characters, love and death, wartime friendships and loss.
Literary R&R – “I had a hard time believing this was a fictional book, as the writing and detail were so great. With the Vietnam War being such a controversial war, this book handled it, warts and all. It never came across as political, although there were some definite political slants. It is the story of the soldiers, the people, and the journalists, as they fought to cover a thankless war. Totally engrossing, occasionally grandiose, but immensely entertaining.” full review
Genre Go Round Reviews (Harriet Klausner’s blog) – A powerful military historical thriller that focuses on journalist covering the Vietnam War especially a fiesty courageous woman crashing through the glass ceiling.” full review
Straight from Hel (Helen Ginger’s blog) The Five O’Clock Follies is based on reality but it is fiction with legs. It’ll keep you running from one page to the next.”
Publishers Review Daily We give Flying Jenny five plus stars for its ambitious themes and flawless writing. We seldom see such superb storytelling skills among the dry, dusty tomes that make up so much of the historical fiction genre. Flying Jenny goes well beyond the norm and delivers a spectacular summertime read. full review
Articles
New York Post
“How This Badass Pilot Paved The Way For Female Aviators” by Zachary Kussin October 8, 2018
“That’s one of the things that’s so special about [Smith],” said journalist and author Theasa Tuohy, who in May published “Flying Jenny,” a fictional work based on Smith’s 1928 bridge flight. “She was captivated [by flying] by the time she was a small child.”
Elinor SMith 1930
Bookshelf: By Sam Roberts, May 2, 2018
Two New Works of Fiction About Mass Transit and a Daring Female Pilot
Another New York novel, “Flying Jenny” (Akashic Books) by Theasa Tuohy, is a fictionalized account drawn from an obituary that appeared in The New York Times in 2010. As seen through the eyes of Laura Bailey, a tabloid newspaper reporter, Jenny Flynn, a stunt pilot (inspired by the exploits of Elinor Smith), begins the book by swooping under the East River bridges on an audacious flight west.
Flying Jenny Official Book Trailer
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Elinor Smith VS Amelia Earhart / October 28, 2018
My Op-Ed Daily News Only five of New York City's 150 statues of historical figures are of women. As the city looks to correct this egregious imbalance, it should look to a little-known teenage aviator named Elinor Smith. Ninety years ago today, on a clear October day,...
Another Bad Day for Journalists / October 9, 2018
A war against the press? Today's news makes Trump's sound like small potatoes. Item: Saudi national columnist for The Washington Post goes missing in the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul. Turkish officials suspect he was murdered there. Item: An investigative reporter was...