
They Run with Surprising Swiftness
The Women Athletes of Early Modern Britain
Peter Radford(Author)
University of Virginia Press
Published on 5. May 2023
Book
Hardback
314 pages
978-0-8139-4792-1 (ISBN)
Description
Women have battled for a place in the male-dominated world of sports throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, overturning obstacles and highlighting the changing position of women in societies around the world. This has become one of the defining stories of our age and the central story of women's sports. They Run with Surprising Swiftness tells a different and much older, forgotten story with many of the same themes. Sports have never been the sole preserve of men; women athletes have always been there. As this book shows, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Britain, women of all ages ran, fought, rode, played football, cricket, tennis, and other sports. They competed in tough, head-to-head events that required extraordinary endurance and skill. Though not labeled "athletic" at the time, these women performed feats that in our age would certainly earn that descriptor. They Run with Surprising Swiftness recognizes these remarkable athletes and their achievements and aims to restore them to their rightful place in the long history of women in sport.
Reviews / Votes
"A pioneering book based on original and painstaking scholarship. The sheer weight of the research and its meticulously written details will challenge preconceived popular and academic notions about the role and status of women in early modern British society. The book will not only be of interest to sports historians but will also provide fresh insights for scholars of women's history and early modern history in general. Radford is a leading authority on this subject for this time period. This is a labour of love." - Neil Carter, De Montfort University, Leicester, author of Cycling and the British: A Modern HistoryMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Charlottesville
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
33 b&w illustrations, 5 tables
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
695 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8139-4792-1 (9780813947921)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2023
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
from
€74.99
Available for download
Person
Peter Radford is an Olympic medallist and world record holder, Professor at the University of Glasgow and Brunel University, and author of The Celebrated Captain Barclay: Sport, Money and Fame in Regency Britain.