The Bugatti Queen - Brossura

Seymour, Miranda

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0743478592 ISBN 13: 9780743478595

Casa editrice: Simon & Schuster, 2005

Riassunto

THE BUGATTI QUEEN is the beautifully illustrated story of an indomitable and fascinating woman, a pioneer of motorsport who revelled in danger. Born in 1900 in a tiny French village, Helene Delangle, aka Helle Nice, became a dancer and a stripper before catching the eye of Ettore Bugatti. Seduced by the combination of machines and speed, Helle Nice went on to have an unprecedented career, competing in numerous Grands Prix and becoming the only woman to drive on the treacherous American speedbowls in the 1930s. She set new land-speed records before a notorious accident which almost ended her racing days. Re-creating her rollercoaster career with authority and panache from many previously unpublished sources, Miranda Seymour reveals the story of an unforgettable life and sheds new light on the extraordinary and reckless world of motor-racing between the wars.

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Recensione

'This engaging memoir brings alive the energy, excitement and viciousness of the racing circuit, and Helle's constant struggle to remain part of a world dominated by rich men'
Observer 1/2
‘Spine-tingling . . . [Seymour] excels in conveying the wider social-historical context’
Sunday Times
‘Miranda Seymour writes with an elegance and verve her subject would have appreciated , but rightly without ever closing her judging eye . . . in making good use of often sketchy material . . . she has written a book almost as interesting for its social history as for the life it relates. And what a life that was, an exciting but cautionary tale . . . this inspiring rediscovery’
Spectator
‘Sometimes it seems that fame looks after its own, but here is a very well-told tale that shows us otherwise’
Sunday Telegraph
‘Miranda Seymour’s biography of the daring female driver Hellé Nice will have you riveted to your seat. THE BUGATTI QUEEN offers a gripping account of motor racing in Europe and America in the Thirties. It also has the charm and fascination of a fairy tale, being the story of a country bumpkin who transformed herself into a glamorous and much-courted star . . . Enthralling reading . . . Seymour is a gifted novelist as well as a biographer, and if she takes the odd liberty, it works to the reader's advantage. The quality of the writing is, indeed, one of the great pleasures of the book, as is Seymour's well-informed commentary on a wide variety of related matters. She presents a dazzling portrait of the racing scene . . . an astute analysis of Helle's likely activities during the German occupation . . . compelling . . . There is no doubt that Hélène Delangle would have been proud to have her story so eloquently and sympathetically retold’
Literary Review
‘The Bugatti Queen is more than a memorial to her. It is superb on the spectacle and allure of the track, and on what the sport is all about – death and, on the way, sex and speed’
Daily Telegraph
‘A highly accomplished biography of an extraordinary woman, it is a timely reminder that celebrity culture, with all its cruel swerves of fortune, is nothing new' 5 star review!!!
Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday 8/2
'Reads like a detective story . . . The use of background detail throughout Miranda Seymour's book is superb, highlighting the skill of a brilliant biographer . . . This model biography will ensure that her extraordinary life will not be forgotten' Lucinda Byatt, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
'Seymour is an accomplished literary biographer' Christopher Silvester, SUNDAY TIMES [CULTURE]
'Beautifully written' GLAMOUR
'With cool wit and tender insight, Miranda Seyour deftly analyses Helene's appeal . . . Seymour has unearthed a fascinating tale of fast cars and even faster women . . . an impressive array of sources . . . a highly accomplished biography of an extraordinary woman' Kathryn Hughes, MAIL ON SUNDAY
'An interesting hybrid of rigorous fact and fanciful reconstruction. But, rather like a converted oasthouse, it works' Sue Gaisford, INDENDENT ON SUNDAY
'An accomplished biography of an extraordinary woman' The Week
'A vivid picture of Nice's amazing life . . . Seymour's research is impressive . . .Seymour's enjoyable style vividly brings alive the highs and lows of Nice's extraordinary adventures. A bonus is the rich selection of unpublished photos that complement this compulsive read' CLASSIC AND SPORTS CAR
'Spine-tingling . . . The Bugatti Queen superbly brings alive the dirty, lethal, glamorous world of 1930s motor-racing but what shines most strongly from its pages is the vividness of Helle Nice's personality; her joie de vivre, her determination, her spirit and her sheer nerve. In writing this enthralling book, Miss Seymour has given the forgotten 'champione du monde automobile' the tribute she has so long deserved' ECONOMIST
'Helle-Nice . . . is well described by the esteemed Miranda Seymour . . . The Bugatti Queen is doubly welcome because so little was known about this girl driver . . . A good read - and not only for motor-racing folk' MOTORSPORT
'Amazing . . . Seymour's research is impressive . . . Seymour's enjoyable style vividly brings alive the highs and lows of Nice's extraordinary adventures. A bonus is the rich selection of unpublished photos that complement this compulsive read' CLASSIC AND SPORTS CAR
'Fascinating' QX INTERNATIONAL
'Diligent research . . . this is a must-have book for anyone interested in the motor racing scence in the pre-war period' AUTOMOBILE
'Miranda Seymour re-establishes [Helle Nice] as an alluring, charismatic woman and a gifted racer'
Metro 28/5
‘Seldom can the word “trail-blazing” have been more appropriate for the description of a life . . . Miranda Seymour clearly revels in the tale of this shameless high-society man-eater [and] fills the narrative with many other fabulously colourful characters . . . But it’s at the race track that this yarn really gets going. Seymour conjures up the full-throttled fever of each meet, inside and outside the cockpit. She skilfully interweaves these heady days of Hellé’s victories with ghastly images of the unloved old woman she would become . . . It’s a technique that propels you onwards, as you wonder what disaster befell the Bugatti queen’
Andrew Gilchrist, Guardian
'I was unprepared for the compulsive excitement of THE BUGATTI QUEEN . . . Seymour's account is that of a scholar and a novelist, eye-opening as to fact, both thrilling and poignant in evocation. It also has the best illustrations - the most eloquent, apt and abundant - of any biography I have read'
Alan Hollinghurst, Guardian 19/6
‘Outstanding account’
The Sunday Times 27/06
'Biographers traditionally fall in love with their subjects. While writing The Bugatti Queen, Miranda Seymour fell in love with her subject's car. Helene Delangle was a good-time gal who drifted from dancing and stripping for a living into driving racing cars. Soon she became one of the royalty of the racetrack. Seymour, who stumbled across her story and makes it into an electrifying tale, had, at the outset, no personal interest in vintage autos. But the author photograph shows her at the wheel of a magnificent inter-war Bugatti, with the light of true love in her eyes. Rumour has it that she is now driving at rallies - a woman biographer truly making her mark in a man's world' SUNDAY TIMES
‘Spine-tingling reading’
Sunday Telegraph 30/01
'Seymour's enthralling biography returns Helle to the limelight that she so craved in her lifetime . . . Seymour tells [the story of her life] with great panache, celebrating the spirit and joie de vivre with which Helle conquered the male-dominated world of motor racing, while charting, in poignant detail, her tumble into obscurity'
SUNDAY TIMES, Pick of the Week
'Helle-Nice was not given to introspection; as a female contemporary put it, "Frankly, I don't believe she ever thought about anything but sex and showing off." It makes for a racy old read'
Victoria Lane, DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Seymour's brilliant biography restores to centre stage an irrepressible woman whose joie de vivre captivated the achingly glamorous, corpse-strewn, sex and adrenalin-fuelled world of 1930s motor-racing. Seymour details the years as a stripper in Paris; the determination to compete against the men while unapologetically bedding most of them; the near-fatal crashes; the media manipulation and image-obsession. Her fall from grace is charted as thrillingly as her rise: she was a destitute wreck in her latter years, abandoned by the younger wastrel she had loved and supported. But take heart Helle, he'll never inspire a biography as lovingly written or triumphant as this one'
Nicola Barr, GUARDIAN
'Shaking together equal parts of sex, speed and scandal, Seymour has produced an irresistible cocktail of a book'
Independent 25/02
'A dashing pioneer of motor sport, the seductive Helle Nice is brought thrillingly to life in this lively account'
100 Best Holiday Reads, SUNDAY TIMES
'Fast-paced, romantic and ultimately very moving, her story is here sensitively told . . . she has succeeded brilliantly: piecing together an extraordinary story and using her skills as a novelist to fill in the occasional gap' AT HOME

L'autore

Miranda Seymour, author of the award-winning In My Father's House has written many acclaimed novels and biographies, including lives of Mary Shelley, Robert Graves, Ottoline Morrell and Helle Nice, the Bugatti Queen.

Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Simon & Schuster
• Data di pubblicazione: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0743478592
• ISBN 13: 9780743478595
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Lingua: Inglese
• Numero di pagine: 320