Published author, Catherine Clarke is from Wellington, New Zealand, and is a now, retired, medical lab scientist. She became interested in a story about a woman named Lillian Adair who was a woman who had a career in the 1800's doing shows where she'd ascend in a homemade balloon, then parachute out of it. She did this all over the world and was associated with many dubious characters who owned the shows she was in, most of whom were pioneering balloonists themselves.

An interest in genealogy led her to an extramural degree in English and History. and after learning of these balloonists, she did extensive research to uncover the true origins of these fascinating aerial stunt performers. and believe that Lillian’s story is too incredible to be left untold.

The interesting part of this story, and how Catherine came to be on our podcast, is that one of these dubious characters, "The Notorious Jimmy Price" happens to be John's maternal grandmother's father!

Catherine shares some of her story of how she went from scientist to novelist, and genealogy researcher, and of course, a few more stories about Jimmy Price.

"The Only Living Lady Parachutist", Catherine's book about Lillian Adair can be found on her website: www.catherineclarkeauthor.com