On the twenty-seventh day of the month of June, in the year of grace 1731, my brother, Bartolomeu Lourenfo, rose on his airship from the ancient ramparts of St. Jorge Castle. I remember the day as clearly as if it were yesterday. . .'
Thus begins 'Passarola Rising', a fabulous historical tale of two brothers and their love of flight. Bartolomeu Lourenco builds the airship Passarola to escape the intellectually stultifying climate of eighteenth-century Portugal. He and his brother Alexandre journey from the salons of Ancien Regime Paris to the far reaches of the North Pole on their quest for scientific truth. They encounter many colourful characters, from the loquacious Voltaire to the irascible King Stanislaus of Poland.
Filled with evocative period detail, adventure and suspense, 'Passarola Rising' is a picaresque tale about truth and the meaning of fraternal companionship. Thomas Keneally writes: Let Azhar Abidi take you for the ride of your life in the fantastical airship Passarola .
