What do you think?
Rate this book
Queen of the Hurricanes: The Fearless Elsie MacGill
Elsie MacGill’s life spanned much of the 20th century, and it was a life full of firsts. While she was still a child, Canadian women won the right to vote for the first time. In the 1920s, she was the first woman to graduate in engineering from the University of Toronto and to later earn a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering. Elsie would live to see the first person walk on the moon, and she would become the first woman aircraft designer in the world.
Elsie’s twin passions for engineering and feminism drove her throughout her life. They inspired her to work for more than fifty years in her field and to become a tireless advocate for women’s rights. She supported women’s struggles and achievements, enshrining their rights and expanding their opportunities.
Elsie’s work during the Second World War on aircraft designs and production made her a popular cartoon character called the “Queen of the Hurricanes.” She continued her achievements into the 1970s as an activist, changing the lives of women in Canada for the better. A truly inspiring woman for the ages.
This is the fifth Feminist History Society book.
Elsie’s twin passions for engineering and feminism drove her throughout her life. They inspired her to work for more than fifty years in her field and to become a tireless advocate for women’s rights. She supported women’s struggles and achievements, enshrining their rights and expanding their opportunities.
Elsie’s work during the Second World War on aircraft designs and production made her a popular cartoon character called the “Queen of the Hurricanes.” She continued her achievements into the 1970s as an activist, changing the lives of women in Canada for the better. A truly inspiring woman for the ages.
This is the fifth Feminist History Society book.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
270 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2014
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 26, 2020
This is a biography of a most interesting woman, Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill (1905-1980). She was the first woman to earn an aeronautical engineering degree and the first women to receive a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in Canada. She graduated from the University of Toronto.
She was born in Vancouver, B. C. Both her parents were attorneys. The women in her family were all feminists. On the personal side, she caught polio in 1929 and spent the rest of her life in a leg brace. She never let her disability hinder her. During WWII she did much to make Canada an aircraft construction & design powerhouse. She became an expert on the mass production of airplanes and published on the subject. She headed the production of Hawker Hurricane fighter planes. I found the life of MacGill fascinating. But what annoyed me about the book was the reading of all the footnotes and descriptions of the photographs. Most audiobooks do not read the footnotes nor describe photos, but listeners are referred to a website where they are available to view. The referral to the site was given in this book.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is twelve hours and six minutes. Dawn Harvey does a good job narrating the book (except reading footnotes; and, I assume that was the producers’ decision).Harvey is a Canadian actress, singer, voice-over artist. She has won an Earphone Award and the SOVAS Award for her audiobook narration. She also has a law degree.
She was born in Vancouver, B. C. Both her parents were attorneys. The women in her family were all feminists. On the personal side, she caught polio in 1929 and spent the rest of her life in a leg brace. She never let her disability hinder her. During WWII she did much to make Canada an aircraft construction & design powerhouse. She became an expert on the mass production of airplanes and published on the subject. She headed the production of Hawker Hurricane fighter planes. I found the life of MacGill fascinating. But what annoyed me about the book was the reading of all the footnotes and descriptions of the photographs. Most audiobooks do not read the footnotes nor describe photos, but listeners are referred to a website where they are available to view. The referral to the site was given in this book.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is twelve hours and six minutes. Dawn Harvey does a good job narrating the book (except reading footnotes; and, I assume that was the producers’ decision).Harvey is a Canadian actress, singer, voice-over artist. She has won an Earphone Award and the SOVAS Award for her audiobook narration. She also has a law degree.
August 2, 2018
This book was not what I expected. I was interested in it because of Elsie MacGill's work during WWII in the production of Hawker Hurricane aircraft (referenced in the title). Most of the book, though, was about MacGill's influence in feminism, which was quite interesting.
On reading the book, I encountered a number of anecdotes where you have to wonder, why was it like that? For example, an engineering institute would not accept MacGill's application for membership because their annual meeting was held in a venue that (they said) did not permit the presence of women! Glad THAT's behind us.
On the other hand, there were a large number of issues that MacGill took on that continue to be problems today, among them the issues of access to abortion, the prevalence of rape, and pay scales. Still a lot of work to do!
As for the book itself, I found the author's text to be clearly written and well organized. I was surprised that footnotes, and apparently the index, were relegated to a website: If you want to check something out, look it up online! On the other hand, the 35 pages of bibliography (!!) were included in the book. I hope this does not become a common feature for publications.
I recommend this book for its story of an extraordinary person at an important time in Canadian history.
On reading the book, I encountered a number of anecdotes where you have to wonder, why was it like that? For example, an engineering institute would not accept MacGill's application for membership because their annual meeting was held in a venue that (they said) did not permit the presence of women! Glad THAT's behind us.
On the other hand, there were a large number of issues that MacGill took on that continue to be problems today, among them the issues of access to abortion, the prevalence of rape, and pay scales. Still a lot of work to do!
As for the book itself, I found the author's text to be clearly written and well organized. I was surprised that footnotes, and apparently the index, were relegated to a website: If you want to check something out, look it up online! On the other hand, the 35 pages of bibliography (!!) were included in the book. I hope this does not become a common feature for publications.
I recommend this book for its story of an extraordinary person at an important time in Canadian history.
December 29, 2020
This book had an incredibly interesting premise and I was really looking forward to hearing more about the woman who had been a pioneer both in engineering and in the aerospace industry.
I received an ARC in audible format thanks to #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
I believe this book might be pretty good if read in text mode, but I found it to be incredibly difficult to listen to in audible format. There are far too many footnote notations that are read each time, probably about one every 3-5 sentences, which completely disrupts the flow of the story. The reader also inexplicably decides to describe each photograph that is included in the book - when I listen to an audible book, I know I'm missing some of the visual content and having photographs just makes that worse, and doesnt' really add to the reading experience.
I also found that it took too long (especially given all of the flow issues described above) to get into who this incredible woman was, what made her tick, etc. Too much long drawn out introduction/prologue, etc. I finally gave up and was not able to finish this book.
I can't in all honesty recommend the audible version, but I do think that the written book might be interesting.
#QueenoftheHurricanes
I received an ARC in audible format thanks to #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.
I believe this book might be pretty good if read in text mode, but I found it to be incredibly difficult to listen to in audible format. There are far too many footnote notations that are read each time, probably about one every 3-5 sentences, which completely disrupts the flow of the story. The reader also inexplicably decides to describe each photograph that is included in the book - when I listen to an audible book, I know I'm missing some of the visual content and having photographs just makes that worse, and doesnt' really add to the reading experience.
I also found that it took too long (especially given all of the flow issues described above) to get into who this incredible woman was, what made her tick, etc. Too much long drawn out introduction/prologue, etc. I finally gave up and was not able to finish this book.
I can't in all honesty recommend the audible version, but I do think that the written book might be interesting.
#QueenoftheHurricanes
July 29, 2025
Elsie MacGill was an incredible woman and this book does her justice. Meticulously researched and well-annotated, the author covers all aspects of Elsie’s life.
I do admit that I was rather surprised that it focused so heavily on her work in politics and activism rather than engineering, since her engineering feats were such an emphasis for her personally. This led to the book not speaking as much to me personally, though I learned a lot about an aspect of her life on which I had no previous knowledge.
I do admit that I was rather surprised that it focused so heavily on her work in politics and activism rather than engineering, since her engineering feats were such an emphasis for her personally. This led to the book not speaking as much to me personally, though I learned a lot about an aspect of her life on which I had no previous knowledge.
May 28, 2020
I needed to read this while doing an audio book proofing - a very unique experience. It took a bit to get used to having someone read me my own book, but I learned so much in the process. My star rating is not for me - but for the quality that the Dawn Harvey put into reading the first draft! I look forward to hearing the final version. If you want to learn more about her see: http://dawnofvoice.ca/
May 30, 2015
Amazing story of a great Canadian.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews