5,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: Pushkin Press
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
One would hear considerably less of hysteria, of morphine-mania, and of other regrettable characteristics of fin-de-siecle existence, if women were to take to fencing as one of the regular occupations of their dayPierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, said in 1896: "No matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks." Women competed in the Olympics for the first time in 1900. Lady Greville, the editor of The Gentlewoman's Book of Sports, hopes that reading what each female expert sportswoman has written about her particular sport or pastime "may encourage other women, as feminine but more timid, to imitate their achievements, and to acquire a keen zest for and sympathy with outdoor pursuits."The Gentlewoman's Book of Sports is part of 'Found on the Shelves', published with The London Library. The books in this series have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over 17 miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016
Ähnliche
PUSHKIN PRESS — THE LONDON LIBRARY
It was not easy to be a sportswoman at the end of the nineteenth century. Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, said in 1896: “No matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks.” Women competed in the Olympics for the first time in 1900.
The “white sailor hats” and the “confusion between you, your hat, and the ball” in Lady Greville’s book may now seem charmingly old-fashioned—until we remember that in 2015, more than a century later, more than 40% of elite sportswomen in Britain were reported to have suffered sexism. Which suddenly makes the bold gentlewomen of 1892 seem far more pioneering…
The books in “Found on the Shelves” have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over seventeen miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.
From essays on dieting in the 1860s to instructions for gentlewomen on trout-fishing, from advice on the ill health caused by the “modern” craze of bicycling to travelogues from Norway, they are as readable and relevant today as they were more than a century ago—even if contemporary sportswomen no longer have to “thank Providence and one’s tailor for one’s knickerbockers”!
THE GENTLEWOMAN’S BOOK OF SPORTS
Contents
THE GENTLEWOMAN’S BOOK OF SPORTS
EDITED BY LADY GREVILLE, 1892
LADY VIOLET GREVILLE (1842–1932) was an author by profession who became, in the 1880s and 1890s, the writer of a ladies column in the Graphic. She joined The London Library on 19th October 1897, giving her occupation as “Lady”.
Preface
A keen love of sport is inherent in the breast of all true Englishmen; and the desire of adventure, the disregard of comfort and danger, that it encourages, have gone far to make them the conquerors of the world. In times, like the present, of morbid self-analysis and diseased introspection, a return to nature, to wholesome healthy amusement and field sports, cannot be too strongly encouraged. The sportsman is not cruel, as has sometimes been wantonly asserted: he loves animals, birds, insects, flowers and all the beauties of nature. In his lonely wanderings face to face with the glorious aspect of sea and sky, of the bleak mountain side and the luxuriant valley, he studies the habits of wild beasts, the ways of feathered fowl, the lore and knowledge of herbs and plants. He learns to love the country for its own sake; to appreciate its poetry, its glamour, its healthful peace; to admire and enjoy “the broken sunlight glinting through copse and gleaming on fern, the woodland sights, the woodland sounds, the balmy odours of Nature, and all the treats she provides for her votaries.”
In like manner, many women have cultivated habits of endurance, of observation, of activity, of courage and self-command, of patience and energy. The record of some of their adventures and pastimes will, I venture to think, be favourably received by the public, and may encourage other women, as feminine but more timid, to imitate their achievements, and to acquire a keen zest for and sympathy with outdoor pursuits.
Each of the ladies who contribute to this volume may claim to be an authority—so far as her own sex is concerned—on the subject of which she treats; and it is thought that these reminiscences and suggestions may be of service to other ladies who are merely beginning to interest themselves in the sports discoursed upon.
VIOLET GREVILLE
TROUT-FISHING
BY LADY COLIN CAMPBELL
LADY COLIN CAMPBELL (née Gertrude Elizabeth Blood) was best known for the divorce scandal which shocked Victorian society. After four years of marriage, she sued for divorce on grounds of her husband’s infidelity and cruelty. Lord Colin alleged that his wife had committed adultery with at least four men. No divorce was obtained, and she became a successful writer and editor (see “Fencing”).
