Little Wonder
The Fabulous Story of Lottie Dod, the World's First Female Sports Superstar
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
"Masterfully captures the life of this little-known sportswoman, a versatile female athlete comparable to Babe Didrikson Zaharias." —Booklist (starred review)
Lottie Dod was a truly extraordinary sports figure who blazed trails of glory in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dod won Wimbledon five times, and did so for the first time in 1887, at the ludicrously young age of fifteen. After she grew bored with competitive tennis, she moved on to and excelled in myriad other sports: she became a leading ice skater and tobogganist, a mountaineer, an endurance bicyclist, a hockey player, a British ladies' golf champion, and an Olympic silver medalist in archery.
In her time, Dod had a huge following, but her years of distinction occurred just before the rise of broadcast media. By the outset of World War I, she was largely a forgotten figure; she died alone and without fanfare in 1960.
Little Wonder brings this remarkable woman's story to life, contextualizing it against a backdrop of rapid social change and tectonic shifts in the status of women in society. Paving the way for the likes of Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, and other top female athletes of today, Dod accepted no limits, no glass ceilings, and always refused to compromise.
"Eighty-five years before Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs fought the 'battle of the sexes,' a Victorian teenager showed what women could do . . . [Abramsky] celebrates her as a brave and talented and determined original." —The Atlantic
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Abramsky (Jumping at Shadows) documents in this engrossing page turner the inspiring life of forgotten sports phenomenon Lottie Dod (1871 1960), who blazed a trail for women sports superstars today. Dod was born into a wealthy family in Liverpool, England, and dominated six sports over 25 years, becoming the youngest person to win Wimbledon in 1887 at the age of 15, gaining the nickname "Little Wonder" and going on to win four more times. Dod, "always eager for something new," challenged men to matches, including Wimbledon champion William Renshaw and Scottish champion Harry Grove (and beat them both in 1888) before moving on to conquer another sport. In 1893, she trained for months in St. Moritz and became the world's best female ice skater, then joined Elizabeth Main in summiting many of Norway and Switzerland's most difficult mountains, and later competed in endurance bicycle treks across Europe. Dod won the British Ladies' Golf Championship in 1904, and then claimed a silver medal in archery at the 1908 London Olympics. Throughout, Abramsky details the evolution of women's roles in society and sports through Dod's triumphs; her athleticism and fight for respect, Abramsky notes, contrasted with the Victorian views of women being fragile, and helped pave the way for suffragists. This astute history is a must read for sports fans and women's studies' students.
