Perhaps the best love stories are the true ones, such as the story of the Danish author Isak Denison and the English game pilot Denys Fich-Hatton. Isak Denisen, who had moved to Kenya with her husband to run a coffee plantation, met and fell madly in love with the dashing Fich-Hatton. They were soul mates, and their love affair became a legend in Africa. However, the free-spirited Denys was an elusive lover, incapable of making any kind of commitment for fear of being tied down.
Isak Dinesen's last decade in Africa alternated between moments of great happiness with Denys, and long weeks, even months, of illness and despair. Finally, in 1931, after the financial collapse of her farm, she was making plans to return to Denmark when she received the worst news of her difficult life--Denys Finch Hatton had crashed his plane and was dead.
Denisen’s book Out of Africa is a memoir of her life in Africa, but in the book Denys is only a friend. The movie of the same title brings out the more intimate details of their relationship.
In the movie, Out of Africa, Dinesen (played by Meryl Streep) says:
‘Now take back the soul of Denys George Finch Hatton, whom You have shared with us. He brought us joy...we loved him well.
He was not ours.
He was not mine."
Out of Africa – the book
Out of Africa – the movie
Out of Africa – the soundtrack
Too Close to the Sun: the Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton
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