Author Peter Zheutlin—Spin

Spin is based on the true story of an ancestor of Peter Zheutlin, a Jewish mother from Boston who, on June 25, 1894, stood before a crowd of 500 friends, family, suffragists and curious onlookers at the Massachusetts State House. Annie Cohen Kopchovksy then climbed onto a 42-pound Columbia bicycle and, according to the Boston Evening Transcript, “sailed away like a kite down Beacon Street.” It was, declared Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World more than fifteen months later, “the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman.” Reportedly set in motion by a wager between two wealthy Boston merchants, the bet required Annie not only to circle the earth by bicycle in 15 months, but to earn $5,000 en route, as well. This was no mere test of a woman’s physical endurance and mental fortitude; it was a test of a woman’s ability to fend for herself in the world. 

Join the Library as we celebrate the launch of this new book by Peter Zheutlin!