In the Wake of Mercedes Gleitze

In 1927, Mercedes Gleitze became the first British woman to swim the English Channel, transforming her from a humble working-class typist into one of the most iconic sportswomen of her age.

With no financial backing or technology, and just the sheer determination to succeed, Mercedes was at the forefront in the struggle to break through existing prejudices against women taking part in sport. She led by example. Over a ten-year period and a pioneering number of record-setting swims around the world, she achieved celebrity status, helped make Rolex famous, and was regularly featured in the worldwide press.

Mercedes' remarkable story and swimming career are now documented for the first time by her daughter, Doloranda Pember, using family records and Mercedes' personal archive.

The book features 82 b/w images.

About the Author

Doloranda Pember is the daughter of Mercedes Gleitze. A consultant on the 2013 BBC documentary 'Mercedes: A New Age', she has also been interviewed about her mother's career on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, appeared in a feature on The One Show on the history of open water swimming, and has helped co-ordinate the recognition of her mother's achievements in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the Guinness Book of Records, and 2012 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.