Brighton Motor Trials - Miss Dorothy Levitt

Miss Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt (1882-1922) in her 80 hp Napier at the Brighton Motor (Speed) Trials, on 21st July 1905. Levitt was the first British woman racing driver, holder of the world's first water speed record, the women's world land speed record holder, and an author. A pioneer of female independence and female motoring, she also taught Queen Alexandra and the Royal Princesses how to drive. In her book The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for all Women who Motor or Who Want to Motor, suggested that all women should "carry a little hand-mirror in a convenient place when driving" so they may "hold the mirror aloft from time to time in order to see behind while driving in traffic", thus inventing the rear view mirror (before it was introduced by manufacturers in 1914)

Emancipation Exponent Jan16 Levitt Racer Taught Trails

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