Reviewed in speedreaders.info

Helen V Hutchings

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fay Taylour, 'The World's Wonder Girl' is an intricately crafted, honest (sometimes brutally so), and fascinating memoir and biography of early motorsports icon Fay Taylour by Dr. Stephen M. Cullen.

The point with biography is that the book captures the essence of the subject. The author does an impressive job of context, the social realities of entrenched sexism of the time period, whilst at the same time rendering Ms. Taylour's accomplishments and her life accessible and understandable to modern readers.

The biography format is chronological, setting the subject's early life, growing up in Ireland, move to England, learning to ride a motorbike, and progression into motorsports. It's very often poignant and each successive victory on the part of Ms. Taylour comes *despite* every obstacle (and they were legion) thrown in her way. The author has a knack of remaining academically rigorous and factual, whilst conveying the pathos and frustration of her life. The author also doesn't shy away from the WW2 period and her association with Mosley's brown shirts and the British Union of Fascists, as well as her subsequent detention and incarceration.

Although it's very well annotated and rigorously supported throughout, the language is layman accessible and the whole is readable and easily understandable by non-academics. The links and resources are comprehensive and will provide many hours of further reading. The book includes a modest number of archival photographs from the Fay Taylour archives as well.

Five stars. I recommend it unreservedly to lovers of biography, motorsports history, nonfiction, etc.

NetGalley, Annie Buchanan

Article: How the wheels came off the Queen of Speed

Daily Express

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I had never heard of Fay Taylour before and it worked overall. Dr Stephen M Cullen does a great job in writing this book and had me engaged with what I was reading. It was a interesting read and it left me wanting to read more.

NetGalley, Kathryn McLeer

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Fay Taylour is someone who deserves far greater recognition in the world of Motorsport. From shaking the male-dominated world of Speedway in its formative years of the 1920's and 1930's and later enjoying considerable success in several branches of motorsport on 4 wheels. Never a token presence Ms Taylour consistently broke records and beat the leading male riders and drivers in their fields.

This excellent book by Dr Stephen M Cullen tells the full story of a fascinating woman, often in her own words from her diaries. A strong woman she held her ground, whether on the Motorsport track or under pressure from the authorities when her views got her into trouble during the Second World War, leading to her incarceration. Far from boring the part of the book detailing her political leanings is a fascinating insight into the quite surprising level of support for the Nazis in Britain during WW2,and even just afterwards. That support came at a cost for Ms Taylour and she was under surveillance by the security services until well into old age.

This is far more than a mere list of Fay Taylour's Motorsport achievements, impressive though they are, it's a well-written and quite riveting autobiography of a fascinating life.

NetGalley, Dave Blendell