The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for All Women Who Motor or Who Want to Motor
1909
The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for All Women Who Motor or Who Want to Motor
1909
In 1909, a woman behind the wheel was a radical act. Dorothy Levitt, who had already shattered speed records and earned the title of "the fastest girl on earth," wrote this chatty little handbook to prove that any woman could motor - and look splendid doing it. Part practical guide, part rallying cry, the book covers everything from choosing your first car to handling roadside emergencies, but its real power lies in its defiant cheerfulness. Levitt assumed her readers would be pioneers, and she wanted them to feel capable, fashionable, and never alone. Peppered with tips on social etiquette (always carry a calling card) and practical concerns (how to change a tire without ruining your gloves), this is a time capsule of early automotive adventure - and a testament to a woman who refused to let anyone tell her driving was a man's game.
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“Keep within the legal limit of speed all the time except on a good and clear stretch of road, where there happen to be no “blind” corners or dangerous cross-roads or traffic. Then there is no real harm done to any one in trying to see what you can get out of your car for a short spurt.””
— Dorothy Levitt
“Dogs, chickens and other domestic animals at large on the highway are not pedestrians, and if one is driving at a regulation speed, or under, one is not responsible for their untimely end.””
— Dorothy Levitt
“The laws now governing motoring have increased largely in the last few years and will probably continue in the making. I will not go into these various laws except to point out that because a person owns a motor-car the ownership of the roads is not necessarily included.””
— Dorothy Levitt
“It is, of course, quite unnecessary to teach the well-bred woman manners. The well-bred woman, with her innate courtesy and unselfishness, should she take up motoring, no doubt would act as all motoristes should act when at the wheel of their car or out on the road.””
— Dorothy Levitt
“There are numberless little things which, after you have graduated to the ranks of the experienced motoriste, you will buy, not because they are absolutely necessary, but because of their convenience. For instance, a speedometer. All the half-dozen makes are good ones. A speedometer is a very interesting accessory, for it tells you exactly the pace at which you are travelling, and in some instances has been known to influence the decision of a magistrate when deciding a charge of exceeding the speed-limit.””
— Dorothy Levitt
“There is only one trouble regarding which you are really justified in feeling angry”
— Dorothy Levitt
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Levitt, Dorothy. The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for All Women Who Motor or Who Want to Motor. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-woman-and-the-car-a-chatty-little-handbook-for-all-women-who-motor-or-who-wa-6a2b3c63-cb10-4557-9967-4801fae04cbb.Levitt, D. (1909). The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for All Women Who Motor or Who Want to Motor. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-woman-and-the-car-a-chatty-little-handbook-for-all-women-who-motor-or-who-wa-6a2b3c63-cb10-4557-9967-4801fae04cbbLevitt, Dorothy. The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for All Women Who Motor or Who Want to Motor. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-woman-and-the-car-a-chatty-little-handbook-for-all-women-who-motor-or-who-wa-6a2b3c63-cb10-4557-9967-4801fae04cbb.
