Amy Johnson: Queen of the Air

by Midge Gillies (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $3.26

  In May 1930, Amy Johnson, a typist from Hull, took off from Croydon Airport with a thermos flask and a packet of sandwiches to try to beat the world solo record to Australia. She arrived, sun-blistered and with grease on her face, after weeks of flying a second-hand, open-cockpit biplane with no radio communication and the most basic of maps. Her adventures inspired a world struggling with the devastating effects of the Depression and made her into a celebrity overnight. She married Scottish playboy Jim Mollison, and together 'The Flying Sweethearts' broke records, mixed with the Mayfair Set, Amelia Earhart and Hollywood stars. But her tempestuous marriage was soon to crumble and she resumed her love affair with speed, taking up gliding and rally driving, and finding solace with a French millionaire. Her plane disappeared over the Thames Estuary during the Second World War, sparking rumours which are still being investigated today. Her body was never found.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2003

  $6.26

  In May 1930, Amy Johnson, a typist from Hull, took off from Croydon Airport with a thermos flask and a packet of sandwiches to try to beat the world solo record to Australia. She arrived, sun-blistered and with grease on her face, after weeks of flying a second-hand, open-cockpit biplane with no radio communication and the most basic of maps. Her adventures - including a forced landing in the Iraqi desert and on a football pitch near Rangoon - inspired a world struggling with the devastating effects of the Depression, and a generation who felt cheated by the futility of the Great War. The Daily Mail transformed her into a celebrity whose career was followed by millions. But fame and the thrill of her flight to Australia made her restless and she took on record-breaking flights to Tokyo and Cape Town. She married Scottish playboy, Jim Mollison and together 'The Flying Sweethearts' broke records, mixed with the Mayfair Set, Amelia Earhart and Hollywood stars and dined with President Roosevelt. Amy became a glamorous fashion icon with a penchant for Chanel clothes and Cartier diamonds, and for painting her planes in her favourite colour of the moment. As her tempestuous marriage crumbled she resumed her love affair with speed, taking up gliding and rally driving, and finding solace with a French millionaire. Her plane disappeared over the Thames Estuary during the Second World War, sparking rumours which are still being investigated today. Her body was never found.