Wheel Within a Wheel [Paperback]

Frances Willard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Published originally in 1895, this classic by Frances Willard, the founder of the WCTU and well-known suffragette, gives insight into both the profound impact of the bicycle at the turn of the century and the new freedom it gave to women in America.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Written toward the turn of the nineteenth century by Frances Willard, the founder of the WCTU (Women's Christian Temperance Union) and well-known suffragette, A Wheel Within a Wheel offers lively insight into the mind of an independent woman who also reflected the temper of her times. Brave enough to take up bicycle riding when she was fifty-three years old, Willard reported that her bicycling costume "consisted of a skirt and blouse of tweed, with belt, rolling collar, and loose cravat, the skirt three inches from the ground; a round straw hat, and walking-shoes with gaiters. It was a simple, modest suit, to which no person of common sense could take exception".

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Applewood Books (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557094497
• ISBN-13: 978-1557094490
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Women in Sports
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies > General
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Sports > General

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true gem, February 20, 2000

By 

M. J. Mccaffrey "Matt OneLANE" (Conn., United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wheel Within a Wheel (Paperback)

Frances Willard was a hardy, clear-spoken New England Temperance/Suffrage activist of the late 19th century. Until age 16, she had free run of the world, but then was bound by the corsets and hoops and restrictions of womanhood. That is, until she turned 53 and received the gift of "a wheel" -- a safety bicycle -- from a friend in the movement. Her reflections on riding the bicycle are amusing and profound. It was very much a community effort for her; she describes one lesson in which four friends stand at the corners (including one at each side of the handlebars, counterbalancing them) and walk her down the drive. BUT this book is ultimately more about life than it is about cycling. It is like a journal of all the insights sparked by this return to the unfettered freedom of Willard's youth. And for that, it is precious and challenging. The language reminded me of Mark Twain's dry observations on his own habits and predilections, and Willard is certainly his equal in exercising her powers of observation and analysis. Ultimately she reflects a universal experience: the experience of flight on two wheels that attracts so many of us to the sport and discipline of the bicycle.