Haunts of the Black Masseur

Charles Sprawson, Amy Liptrot

From Shelf: Books about the sea being read by Tim Dee

Offers an introduction to the great swimming heroes: Byron leaping into the surf at Shelley's beach funeral, Hart Crane, swallow-diving to his death in the Bay of Mexico, Ulysses, Leander, Weismuller and more.

A new re-issue of the cult swimming classic, a beautiful read filled with detailed description and powerful prose.WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY AMY LIPTROT'A luminously romantic history of swimming' GuardianHaunts of the Black Masseur is a dazzling introduction to the great swimming heroes, from Byron leaping into the surf at Shelley's funeral to Hart Crane diving to his death in the Bay of Mexico. Bursting with anecdotes, Charles Sprawson leads us into a watery world populated by lithe demi-gods - a world that has obsessed humans from the ancient Greeks and Romans, to Yeats, Woolf, Fitzgerald and Hockney. Original, enticing and dripping with references to literature, film, art and Olympic history, this cult swimming classic pays sparkling tribute to water and the cultural meanings we attach to it.'This splendid and wholly original book is as zestful as a plunge in champagne' Iris Murdoch