Leaving Earth

Susan Patrick is a librarian at Ryerson Polytechnical University.

In 1933, two women attempt to break an endurance record by staying in
flight continuously for more than 18 days in an open cockpit biplane.

These are the bare bones of this engaging first novel, which combines
the excitement of the women’s physical challenge with the psychology
of the emotional relationship that develops between them. The charming,
but manipulative and ruthlessly ambitious Air Ace Grace and her less
experienced sidekick, Willa, must also contend with Grace’s husband,
former holder of the flying record, who pilots the plane that brings
them food and fuel, and who is trying to morally sabotage the flight.

Interwoven with the main story are the experiences of a young girl who
lives in the exotic world of the Toronto Island carnival and worships
Grace from afar, as well as subthemes of dominant trends of the
1930s—the Depression, rising Nazism, and the emergence of the
emancipated woman.

Humphreys writes with authority about the workings of the Moth biplane,
but also about the history and geography of the Toronto Islands. Most
fascinating is the way she describes the sign language that the women
develop in order to communicate when their paper and pencils are
destroyed.

Leaving Earth is an interesting and enjoyable read.