The Pedestriennes: America’s Forgotten Superstars – Book Review
“America’s forgotten superstars” is the sub-title of this great read and I could not think of a statement more apt. In a nation that glorifies our elite athletes for their superhuman strength and ability as well as scrutinize their personal lifestyles and choices, Hall makes the indisputable argument that these 19th century rock-stars deserve more recognition for the blood, sweat, and passion given to their sport of endurance walking.
Hall successfully tells the story of these athletes by offering the reader a wealth of information into a relatively obscure world. With no prior knowledge, I was able to follow the excitement as it was written in order to root for my favorite walkers and experience the anxiety, fear, and adrenaline with them. The description of early New York sports venues was great and I could not help but think of how sports arenas today struggle with the same issues such as vying for full attendance and attracting the best events. Brooklyn’s newest sports arena, the Barclay Center that opened in 2012 comes to mind as a viable rival to the historic Madison Square Garden and how both venues struggle to attract mainstay sports but also gamble with lesser known events in order to see how it will pay off, similar to the Mozart Garden. I enjoyed seeing the juxtaposition with MSG from 1879 to 2015.
Finally what made this book so memorable was the underlining theme of the underdog, a classic sports motif. “The Pedestriennes” pulls you into a world where the odds are against you yet anyone can participate in hopes to perform at the highest level. Not only can ladies like Andersen compete for the power and prestige, they must also come to terms with the waning lack of national interest in their sport. As the luster of this spectator sport fades at the turn of the 20th century, Hall make a compelling argument that the memory of these women should not.
This was an engaging read. Until I read this book, I never knew that there was a history of Pedestrianism anywhere in the world, let alone the United States. Hall does a wonderful job of making something that might sound dull and boring into something exciting and engaging. Through his suspenseful buildup of the Pedestrian events, as a reader, I felt as though I was watching these sporting events take place. The description of each of the women is very well-developed and the description is impeccable, even to the smallest detail.
The vivid detail and research that Hall put into this account is clear and makes the reader feel present in the arenas. While I was reading this book, I felt as though I was in Gilmore Garden watching Madame Anderson compete. I felt as though I witnessed the argument that occurred between LaChapelle and her husband.
While those wonderful praises said, I must also share a little criticism. First off, and perhaps the most troublesome to a frequent reader as myself, are the small grammatical errors which appear throughout the book. While most errors do not interfere with the comprehension of the story or the sentence, they do become rather bothersome by chapter eight.
Secondly, and perhaps this is more of a formatting issue than an issue with the style of the story, the pictures within the book fall in the middle of the intense race which Madame Anderson undertook. By reading the captions under the pictures, the end results of the race were spoiled. Granted, the internet and any small amount of research would have yielded the same information, but as an uninformed reader, I was saddened to learn the results before reading Hall’s engaging and wonderful prose telling me the outcome of Anderson’s month long endeavor.
And finally, again as a minimal complaint, some of the information regarding the people within the biography is repetitive. The descriptions of some of the supporting persons within this account are repeated the first several times we encounter information about them. While this is probably an oversight, it did lead me to wonder if I was reading something I had already read or if I lost my place in this otherwise engaging account of a forgotten sport in America.
I would like to thank Dog Ear Publishing for allowing me an ARC of this book via Netgalley for an open and honest review.
“The Pedestriennes: America’s Forgotten Superstars” tells the little-known story of a handful of late 19th century female athletes who dazzled America with their remarkable performances in endurance walking. Frequently performing in front of large raucous crowds, pedestriennes walked on makeshift tracks setup in reconfigured theatres and opera houses. Top pedestriennes often earned more money in one week than the average American took home in a year. Newspapers reported on their achievements and interviewed the champions. Their walking outfits became fashion plates, their pictures were sold in stores and they made personal appearances as national celebrities. The pedestriennes’ exploits reshaped the country’s attitudes about what women could accomplish and established the foundation for modern sports, the revival of the Olympic Games and the suffragist movement.
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