New historical novel releases in time for National Bicycle Month
Faith,
patience and courage in adversity
help a young woman find her way
Debut novel by Mike H. Mizrahi highlights
how the bicycle paved
the way for women’s rights
We live in a world where a device on our
wrist can detect our every step and vital sign while our phones pop up with
notifications telling us where we are, in case we did not already know. Too
easily we take for granted the great inventions of the past that drastically
changed the world at the time they were introduced. Take the bicycle, for
example. In his debut novel, The Great Chattanooga Bicycle Race (Redemption
Press/May 1, 2017), author Mike H. Mizrahi tells the story of a
woman who creates waves by not only riding a bicycle, but doing so in bloomers.
A woman riding a bicycle in pants seems trivial to us now, but at the turn of
the 20th century, it was a very big deal and played a part in the advancement
of women’s rights.
The
Great Chattanooga Bicycle Race introduces
readers to Anna Gaines, an insecure and introverted 19-year-old, who discovers
she’s a natural on the “wheel” after a visit with her aunt in Brooklyn. Upon
returning home to Chattanooga, she insists on the same rights men have to cycle
in public. She becomes the first woman to ride the streets of Chattanooga, clad
in the bloomers, the risqué apparel many New York women are wearing in 1895.
A firestorm ignites, pitting a few progressive thinkers
against a city full of moralists intent on clinging to their post-Antebellum
way of life. Anna finds herself in the middle of an explosive controversy she
never envisioned. She is pitted against Peter Sawyer, the Cycle Club president who
silently harbors a crush for her, in a five-mile bicycle race that will decide
if women have the same capabilities as men to ride.
“The bicycle created a new mobility for
women, which led to increased independence. To accommodate women riders,
clothing manufacturers created new streamlined dresses and skirts that fell to
the ankles, even bloomers so as to not get tangled in the pedals,” explains
Mizrahi. “The Gibson Girl emerged in newspaper and magazine advertisements — the
artistic creation of one thousand women featured tall and slender lines, ample
hips and buttocks, youthful features and ephemeral beauty. The ‘New Woman,’ the
feminist ideal, rode into the 20th century on a bicycle — all the way to the
Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution.”
As an author, Mizrahi is drawn to this
particular time in history due to the many changes going on at the time. Industrialization
created a massive shift in America from an agrarian to a more urban society,
opening the door for both men and women to attend school and take jobs outside
the home. However, change did not come as quickly in some areas as others. “As
I researched the amazing impact the bicycle had on the American social fabric,
I noticed one region was slow in accepting female cyclists: the South,” Mizrahi
shares. “After
the War Between the States, Chattanooga was the gateway to the South thanks to
shipping via the Tennessee River and the rail lines that connected the
industrialized North to the struggling South, creating a magnificent business
hub within the city. A shift in Southern social norms involving the bicycle
might well have started there and spread to other cities. So I chose
Chattanooga — a different kind of southern city after the war.”
In addition to an entertaining story and a
glimpse into history, Mizrahi hopes readers will see growing into the person he
or she longs to become requires patience and courage in the shadows of
adversity. “Having the courage to conquer our inner doubts and pursue our
dreams can transform us and those around us — even change history.”
Advance Praise
“The Great Chattanooga Bicycle Race
artfully blends the story of a young woman trying to find her place in the
world at the dawning of a new century, and the fascinating historical impact of
the bicycle on national clothing styles and societal mores in the 1890s.”
~
Kenneth Kemp, co-author of Why Not Today:
Trafficking, Slavery, the Global Church . . . and You
Mike Mizrahi has a master’s degree in public relations, advertising
and applied communication from Boston University. After a career in corporate
public affairs, he retired to pursue a deep passion: writing.
Mizrahi and his wife, Karen, led a mission trip to the
Democratic Republic of Congo four years ago and were so moved by the experience,
Mizrahi wrote his first novel, which he hopes will one day be published. The Great Chattanooga Bicycle Race is
his debut published work.
Mizrahi loves reading and writing stories
about “sozo,” which means to be rescued in Greek. He and Karen are very active
in their church and community and love to hike, travel and go the movies
together. The Mizrahis live in Woodland Hills, California, where they raised
their children who are now adults.
Learn more
about The Great Chattanooga Bicycle Race and
Mike H. Mizrahi at www.mikehmizrahi.com or on Facebook (AuthorMikeMizrahi) and Twitter (@MikeHMiz).
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