Why read The Wheels of Chance?

Book cover of The Wheels of Chance

Book description

Complete and unabridged edition.

The Wheels of Chance was written at the height of the cycling craze (1890–1905), when practical, comfortable bicycles first became widely and cheaply available and before the rise of the automobile (see History of the bicycle). The advent of the bicycle stirred sudden and profound changes…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Wheels of Chance as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Kathleen Jowitt

Author

I thought I’d finish this list with something more directly relevant to me and the millions of others who cycle just for pleasure and transport.

This charming book, in which a young man takes a holiday from his tedious job and encounters an equally liberated young woman, dates from the early days of the bicycle, and for me, it still captures the sense of freedom, of horizons opening up, that I experienced myself when I really got into cycling.

For me, it had an extra layer of enjoyment: I used to live in Surrey, and even at over a century’s…

From Kathleen's list on cycling novels that put you right in the heart of the action.