There are several historical characters who deserve movies of their own - or at least screenplays - but most of these individuals I keep to myself (if a story is too good to be true, then I naturally want to write it).

But I'm happy to remind anyone and everyone about one of the great feminist figures of the 19th Century: the amazing Annie Londonderry - the first woman to more or less "ride a bicycle around the world" - and whose adventures are detailed in "Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride" [Peter Zheutin].

At the time of her adventure, in 1894, Annie Kopchovsky was a mother of three, wife of an immigrant, and had never ridden a bicycle in her life. This is a story of gold-plated audacity and startling re-invention: a young woman riding alone out of Boston with one change of clothes, no money, and just the ambition to be famous. She appears to have been a born storyteller, and extremely glib: consistently using the main channel of media at the time [newspapers] to publicize her tour and raise money.

It was probably inevitable that she be something of a huckster. You could say that she made lying into something of an art form. On the other hand, since the cultural deck was firmly stacked against her, she needed a little deception to even the odds.

She was 15 months on the road, making a memorable impression wherever she went, and then - once back home - she went back to being a wife and mother for the most part. She promised a book, but never wrote it - and now is thoroughly forgotten.

She's a character made for a brash, and funny, and (what the hell) mildly erotic movie.

The reason I love incorporating historical details/figures into my work is that I find marvelous bits that I would never have made up by myself. I'm going to read what I can find on her. Maybe I can transpose some of her characteristics/antics to someone in my sixteenth century world.

--edited by Mimi Speike on 5/20/2015, 9:36 PM--