The Wheels of Chance

This novel was written at the peak of what has been called the Golden Age of the bicycle—the years of 1890-1905 when practical, comfortable bicycles first became widely and cheaply available, and before the rise of the automobile. The advent of the bicycle stirred sudden and profound changes in the social life of England. It was unprecedented that a person of modest means could travel substantial distances, quickly, cheaply and without being limited to railway schedules. The very idea of travelling for pleasure became a possibility for thousands of people for the first time. This new freedom affected many. It began to weaken the rigid English class structure and it gave an especially powerful boost to the existing movement toward female emancipation.