A thorough, innovative yet entertaining and readable analysis of sport as an expression of the values and social relations of a nation. Covering the years between the two World Wars, the central place of sport in English life is brought into sharp focus, providing insight into issues of gender, class, religion and locality, ideas of morality, continuity and change, and what it meant to be English during this pivotal time.

Themes include:

• the nature of sport and its place in national life


• how sport was portrayed in the media and through the sports stars of the age


• tradition and change in sport and in society


• gaining meaning from sport: the pursuit of pleasure, a moral code, and ideas of Englishness


• class, social conflict and social cohesion.

This original and lucid study is ideal for students of sport and social history, and anyone with an interest in the social role of sport.