Adventure Seekers

The adrenaline rush felt by the women in this volume of the Sports She Wrote series challenges the notion of Victorian-era women as placid demure damsels. These daring women adventurers' exploits, featured in 46 articles (116,000 words) written from 1871 to 1900, with 75 illustrations, include exhilarating hot-air balloon flights, courageous circus performers, underwater explorations, and death-defying dashes down icy rapids.Eleven articles showcase harrowing feats of audacious and sometimes foolhardy bravery by women who defy norms and push the boundaries of common sense, standing on the ledge of a tall building, swinging from a ringing bell tower, riding a forty-mile plume and ignoring the conventions of being a homemaker in the American West. Fourteen narratives recount the Alaskan Klondike Gold Rush, with vivid tales of survival amid frightening starvation and harsh freezing conditions that will chill you to the bone.Renowned travel writer Elizabeth Taylor's ten in-depth articles detail her expeditions into the Arctic Circle and the cultures she encountered as a lone woman explorer into previously uncharted territories. Three additional articles unveil traditional sports from Italy, Asia and Samoa, offering global perspectives on the wide world of sport.Sports She Wrote is a 31-volume time-capsule of primary documents written by more than 500 women in the 19th century.