The Bugatti Queen-Book Review by Grant Ford

Although not new to the book shelves, Miranda Seymour’s comprehensive insight into Grand Prix racing and the life of an incredible driver was new to me. Released a decade ago I found a copy quite by accident, a Pocket Books biography that follows the life of Helene Delangle. Born in 1900 in a tiny French village the story of her life on and off track is both shocking and impressive. By the 1920s with a name change to Helene Nice and a dancing career underway (both with and without clothes), a single minded women with many male admirers turned her talents to racing and did whatever it took to achieve stardom behind the wheel. As we are constantly reminded, motorsport is dangerous but between the wars it was positively deadly, accidents were common and usually disastrous. Helene Nice proved herself to be the fastest woman of the times and went on to challenge the male dominated sport, driving for great marques such as Bugatti and Alfa Romeo. She set new land speed records on the giant bowl ovals, raced and rallied across Europe and North Africa and went across the pond to stun the Americans with her talents. Competitors, friends and lovers paid the ultimate price but nothing subdued Helene Nice and her desire to race and win until finally a horrendous crash nearly took her life. When WW2 came and the ‘Swastika’ replaced the ‘Tricolor’ across France her life became about survival and after the war her reputation was nearly ruined having been unfairly accused of collaboration. An extraordinary life story was almost lost as a sad and lonely figure just disappeared, living out her final days in poor accommodation and penny-less. The author has gone to extreme lengths to collect letters and images lost for decades and piece together a fantastic biography, providing a great read. Published by Simon & Schuster