One would hear considerably less of hysteria, of morphine-mania, and of other regrettable characteristics of fin-de-siecle existence, if women were to take to fencing as one of the regular occupations of their day Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, said in 1896: ‘No matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks.’ Women competed in the Olympics for the first time in 1900. Lady Greville, the editor of The Gentlewoman’s Book of Sports, hopes that reading what each female expert sportswoman has written about her particular sport or pastime ‘may encourage other women, as feminine but more timid, to imitate their achievements, and to acquire a keen zest for and sympathy with outdoor pursuits.’The Gentlewoman’s Book of Sports is part of ‘Found on the Shelves’, published with The London Library. The books in this series have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over 17 miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.

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