Sport and the British: A Modern History [Paperback]

Sport and the Britishhas long been the standard work on the history of sport in Britain. This new edition provides a complete rewrite of the original text, incorporating new research, and providing an authoritative, accessible, and vivid account of sport as a distinctive and integral part of modern Britain and of 'the British world'.So many of the world's sports have their origins in Britain. Why is this? How did sports innovate and evolve in step with social upheaval, and political and cultural change? Why did British forms of play become so influential around the world?Richard Holt explores all of these questions and more in this new edition ofSport and the British: A Modern History. For over thirty yearsSport and the Britishhas been the standard work on the history of sport in Britain, and the new edition provides a complete rewrite of the original text, incorporating the most up-to-date research.Holt weaves a narrative of the excitement, passion, and variety of sports played the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth, from street corner 'kickabouts' to the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.Sport and the Britishcrosses class, race, culture, and gender, illuminating how the transformation of games speaks to the wider history of Britain and its global impact on the history of sport.IntroductionI. Old Ways of PlayingII. New Ways of PlayingIII. Amateurism and the VictoriansIV. The Spread of SportV. Democracy and SpectacleVI. Nations and IdentitiesVII. Imperial, International, and Olympic SportVIII. Affluence, Media, and the StateEpilogue and ConclusionAppendixRichard Holt,Professor Emeritus, International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort UniversityRichard Holtread Modern History at St John's College, University of Oxford. He was a lecturer in Modern History at Stirling University from 1974 to 1990, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Leuven from 1991 to 1993, and Research Prol³*