The Great Swim

Author:

By Gavin Mortimer

Format:

Hardback

Availability:

In print, usually dispatched within 3-4 days.

Price:

£14.99 £13.49 (Save 10%)

Tagged with:

Swimming, Board Diving and Water Polo, Swimming, English Channel

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Further Details

• Published: 1st May 2008
• ISBN: 1906021295
• Pages: 360

From the Publisher:

During the summer of 1926 four swimmers battled the weather, the odds and each other to become the first woman to conquer the formidable waters of the English Channel. This is their story.

In the aftermath of the Great War, when the world was still trying to bury its wounds, flappers, jazz music and sport all helped to take people’s minds off of the daily grind. But it was the story of four young American swimmers - Gertrude Ederle, Mille Gade, Lillian Cannon, and Clarabelle Barrett - that captivated the public on both sides of the Atlantic. The popular East Coast tabloids from New York to Boston engaged in rivalries nearly as competitive as the swimmers themselves; each backed a favourite which only fuelled the rivalry - wife and mother pitched against feminist and flirt in a desperate bid for glory.

In The Great Swim, Gavin Mortimer paints an unforgettable portrait of a battle that changed the way the world looked at women. This is a tale of perseverance and sheer force of will and of the frightening ease with which celebrity hysteria can precipitate tragedy.