Annette Kellerman, Australian Mermaid: The inspiring true story of the swimming champion and Hollywood star, from the bestselling author of SISTER VIV and THE REMARKABLE MRS REIBYBorn into a daring, musical family in 1886, Annette Kellerman was a force of nature and made for the stage her first love and encouraged to defy social norms from a young age. But after she was diagnosed with rickets as a child she took up swimming for therapy, and soon she became an Australian champion, beating boys, breaking records, and astonishing huge crowds by diving from great heights. By 1905, Annette was 18 and on her way to England in an