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. Fiercely independent and with no financial backing, Mercedes was at the forefront in the struggle to break through the existing prejudices against women taking part in sport. Over a ten-year period and a large number of pioneering, record-setting swims around the world, she achieved celebrity status, helped make Rolex famous, and was regularly in the spotlight of the worldwide press. While pursuing her dream she led by example, showing that women deserved recognition for their sporting achievements – though she herself was very modest about her success, barely talking about it even to her own children. Here, Mercedes' daughter documents the remarkable story of her early life and subsequent swimming career, using Mercedes' personal records and pictures, recollections from acquaintances and newspaper articles of the time.

The remarkable untold biography of the first British woman to swim the Channel

'This book will help so many people' Positive Fertility An Outdoor Swimming Society Book of the Year 2018 After a decade of trying and failing to become a mother, Jessica Hepburn knew it was time to do something different. So she decided to swim twenty-one miles across the English Channel – no easy feat, especially for someone who couldn't swim very well. As the punishing training schedule commenced, Jessica learned you need to put on weight to stave off the cold. This gave her the idea to meet and eat with a collection of inspiring women, and ask them: does motherhood make you happy? From baronesses and professors to award-winners and record-breakers, each of the women had compelling truths to tell about fulfilment and the meaning of motherhood.

More than simply a comprehensive collection of brand success stories, this text will also help businesses and students to easily identify the factors behind these successes, and to place them into a broader business and social context.

This riveting story of Shelley's rise to success is uncompromising, spirited, and straight from the heart. A must listen for anyone who is struggling with motivation... the perfect listen for open water swimmers of all levels. Learn how to absolutely love the solitary nature of the sport and develop the "man-against-nature" mindset which is the key essential to becoming successful in the open-water swim element of your next triathlon. Delve into Shelley's greatest asset, "the most important six" of your body, the distance between your ears and the ability to get into your own mind, swim your own race and get in control of your own life. Learn how to turn your love-hate relationship for open water around and overcome your greatest competitor - yourself! (c)2013 Shelley Taylor-Smith; (P)2013 Motivational Press, I

An enchanting and uplifting tale of love, friendship and the wondrousness of women, for wonder girls of all ages 'Don't follow the crowd,' she'd be telling schoolgirls at the swimming baths. 'Follow your own star and when you have achieved your goal you will have that with you for the rest of your life...' In 1928, a plucky young Welsh girl named Ida Gaze swims the Bristol Channel with the help of her best friend Freda and the inspiration of her heroine Amelia Earhart. In 1937, on the instructions of the matron, a young skivvy at a grand maternity hospital in London smuggles out an orphaned baby on one of the coldest nights of the year. Now, in a small town in Wales, an old lady named Ceci pieces together these stories and is about to discover the surprising ways in which they link to her own. It begins with two girls in the twenties who left their small Welsh village for the Big Smoke, feeling that the world was changing and everything was possible… 'An imaginative tour de force, moving and well-written and the characters are superb' Daily Mail 'Sparkling ... deceptively light … Jones's warmth and deft characterisation shine out' Guardian 'An impressive debut' Bookseller

Through an examination of election campaign propaganda and various public relations campaigns, reflecting new electioneering techniques borrowed from the United States, this work explores how conservative political and economic groups sought to construct and sell a political meaning of the Social Market Economy and the Economic Miracle in West Germany during the 1950s.The political meaning of economics contributed to conservative electoral success, constructed a new belief in the free market economy within West German society, and provided legitimacy and political stability for the new Federal Republic of Germany.