Dimensions
129 x 197 x 16mm
The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel
In August 1875 Captain Matthew Webb became the first man to swim the English Channel. Feted and adored, praised and imitated, for a while he was the most famous man in Britain and his gallant 22-hour endeavour helped to make swimming the popular sport it is today. It was to be both the highlight of his life and the beginning of his ruin.
This is the story of Webb, a man who achieved his dream but did not know what to do with it. He lived a life of adventure, surrounded by a colourful array of sportsmen, stuntmen and gamblers. Through him, we glimpse a slice of Victorian society, a lusty, flamboyant, gaslit underworld of physical display and shady deals.
Strange, funny and ultimately tragic, 'The Crossing' is a fast-moving tale of triumph and folly: it is also the story of swimming and man's long love-affair with the water.
