Sport and the making of Britain

<p>The British love of sport is legendary. In this lively and stimulating book Derek Birley looks at the part it played in shaping British society.<br><br>The book traces the development of sporting conventions from medieval chivalry to modern notions of sportsmanship and fair play. Particular sports from hunting and the tournament to ball-games and athletics are shown against the social background of the emerging nation. The first laws of favourite pastimes such as horse-racing cricket and boxing were devised by the privileged for gambling purposes but were enthusiastically followed by the lower orders for pleasure and profit.<br><br>Amongst the topics explored are the changing fortunes and fashions in field sports 'gentlemen and players' in cricket the public school games cult purity in amateur rowing the urban middle-class discovery of lawn tennis and golf and the 'north-south divide' in football. These social issues are cross-threads in the theme of sport's influence on national identity patriotism and imperialism in the making of Britain.<br><br>Remarkable in its scope and in its linking of sport to the changing social political scene this is a splendidly readable history.</p>