Half-Time: The Glorious Summer of 1934

by Robert Winder

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 events 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 hatrick.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.

Genres: History

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2015

About the author

Robert Winder, formerly literary editor of The Independent for five years and Deputy Editor of Granta magazine during the late 1990s, is the author of Hell for Leather, a book about modern cricket, a book about British immigration, and also two novels, as well as many articles and book reviews in British periodicals. Winder is a team member of the Gaieties Cricket Club, whose chairman was Harold Pinter.

Reviews

[Tolkien InMySleep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting idea, putting the triumphs of 3 British sporting greats (Fred Perry, Henry Cotton and Hedley Verity) into the context of the period they played in.

[GDJ Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those books I picked up an age ago, and suddenly felt I might enjoy. Winder draws some lovely parallels between his main protagonists, and anything that features Hedley Verity heavily will do well with me.

I had not realised how ignorant I was of Fred Perry's story, either, one rather thinks one is taught his tale by osmosis when young. Not so.

[Olly Colluphid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly good. I thought it was trying to be too ambitious in linking the three stories to the developments leading up to WW2, but it hangs together as a narrative. However the conclusions it draws are probably best ignored.

[David Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts off with a nice set-up: 1934 was a high-tide point for British sport; citizens were enjoying the dividends of peace again after the war to end all wars, and three great sportsmen (plus one occasionally-mentioned-in-a-token-kind-of-way sportswoman) were expressing the confidence of the national character at Wimbledon, Lord's and Royal St George's. Little did they know then that it was only Half Time, and another round of war was to come… And then there's the hint that history repeats itself with British sport triumphing in 2013 (England win the Ashes, Murray wins Wimbledon, a Brit nearly wins the Open) in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007-10. But is it again only Half Time?
Unfortunately Winder's book never quite delivers on the set-up. Narrative or insights about the role of sport in capturing or accentuating the mood of a nation are relatively few and a bit thin. Mostly we get a range of aperçus about a couple of upwardly mobile sportsmen (Perry and Cotton) as they first reach the top and then gild their careers as money starts to arrive in sport, balanced by one more rooted enigma (Verity) who plays for the team and dies for his country. The book is quite diverting, but longer than its substance warrants.