Downstream

Frederick, like most
swimming professors, was a
lover of spectacle and a savvy
promoter, issuing swimming
wagers at indoor pools as
early as the 1850s, and
organising fêtes of natation.
His daughter’s swim in the
Thames was both a publicity
stunt and a money-making
scheme. Just weeks earlier
another professor by the
name of Parker had
advertised that his sister