Half-Time: The Glorious Summer of 1934 - Wisden Sports Writing (Paperback)
Robert Winder (author)
£9.99
Paperback
272 Pages /
Published: 05/05/2016
- In stock online
Set against the backdrop of depression-era politics, 1934 was an annus mirabilis for English sport. Within just a few days of each other, Hedley Verity, Henry Cotton and Fred Perry all triumphed in their field. To a sporting audience still groaning through the quagmire left by the Great Depression, greedy for inspiring distractions, these heroic efforts made for a heady spectacle.
England's Ashes Test victory at Lord's (later known as Verity's match) saw Australia seeking revenge after the Bodyline series of 1932-33, but Verity bowled England to a famous innings victory, taking 15 wickets - 14 in one day! That same day, Cotton set out on the first qualifying round of the British Open. He went on to set a new Open record with a game so sparkling the Daily Express called it "the best round of golf ever played". And within a fortnight, Perry had beaten Australia's Jack Crawford in the Wimbledon final. England had an extraordinary national hat-trick.
Together, these three contests and these three singular life stories weave a vivid portrait of an England that has faded from view. Half-Time celebrates a time of intense and rapid social and cultural change, a time that was both the last hurrah of the ancien regime and the stirring of something new. And moving through it, famous actors on a grand stage, are three very English heroes.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781472908940
Number of pages: 272
Weight: 192 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
This is an astonishingly good book * Country Life *
Superb * The Oldie *
Winder more than delivers on the mission statement of his publisher, Wisden Sports Writing, to produce books that "transcend individual sports and say something about life" * Daily Telegraph *
A splendidly evocative book * The Financial Times *
A splendid account of a faded England, told through three national heroes at a fascinating moment of change between the wars * All Out Cricket *
Superb * The Oldie *
Winder more than delivers on the mission statement of his publisher, Wisden Sports Writing, to produce books that "transcend individual sports and say something about life" * Daily Telegraph *
A splendidly evocative book * The Financial Times *
A splendid account of a faded England, told through three national heroes at a fascinating moment of change between the wars * All Out Cricket *
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