Spin : a novel based on a (mostly) true story Cover Image

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Spin : a novel based on a (mostly) true story / Peter Zheutlin.

ISBN: 9781643137520
ISBN: 1643137522
Physical Description: 277 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Edition: First Pegasus Books edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : Pegasus Books, Ltd., 2021.
Copyright: &copy;2021

Summary:

"[Annie Londonderry] captured the popular imagination with her daring 'round the world trip on two wheels. It was, declared The New York World in October of 1895, "the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman." But beyond the headlines, Londonderry was really Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, a young, Jewish mother of three small children, who climbed onto a 42-pound Columbia bicycle and pedaled away into history. Reportedly set in motion by a wager between two wealthy Boston merchants, the bet required Annie not only to circle the earth by bicycle in 15 months, but to earn 5,000 en route, as well... Often attired in a man's riding suit, Annie turned every Victorian notion of female propriety on its head. Not only did she abandon, temporarily, her role of wife and mother (scandalous in the 1890s), she earned her way selling photographs of herself, appearing as an attraction in stores, and by turning herself into a mobile billboard. Zheutlin, a descendant of Annie, brilliantly probes the inner life and seeming boundless courage of this outlandish, brash, and charismatic woman."-- Provided by publisher.