John Lazenby's interest in cricket began with a glimpse of his grandfather's old leather cricket bag stored among the rafters. His curiosity piqued, one day he decided to climb up and explore its contents. The faded blazer, heavy ball and linseed-scented bats exerted a subtle influence on him. This re-emerged decades later when he discovered a box of letters written by his grandfather, the England cricketer J. R. Mason, while on a boat to Australia for the 1897-8 Ashes tour. Inspired by these extraordinary letters, John Lazenby retraces the journey. His tour becomes a cricketing pilgrimage and a voyage of discovery as he passes through Australian cities and remote towns his grandfather visited more than a hundred years ago. During his travels he uncovers a wealth of memorabilia and anecdotes, and his wide-reaching narrative encompasses not only Mason and his team-mates, but also a wider insight into late Victorian mores.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'Test of Time will be gold dust to cricket lovers, but it can reach a far wider audience' -- David Reynolds, author of Swan River 'A celebration of cricket, a unique personal history and an evocative portrait of a bygone era.' -- History Today 'All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read and highly recommended.' -- 334NotOut.com 'He conveys the strange, but palpable excitement of research -- he drops in on a close-season Lord's, beautifully evoked as a great ship in dry dock' -- Times Literary Supplement 20050722 'A delightful and unusual book' -- Sydney Morning Herald 20050910 'A cracking story' -- The Wisden Cricketer 20051001 'Fascinating' -- Andrew Baker, Daily Telegraph 20051027 'Partly travelogue...and partly a lovingly detailed exhumation of cricket in JM Mason's day. The sense of period is excellent' - Alex Clark -- Observer 20060423 'Part travelogue, part personal history, all good.' -- GQ 20060501
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Maße
Höhe: 27 mm
Breite: 154 mm
Dicke: 242 mm
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ISBN-13
978-0-7195-6651-6 (9780719566516)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
John Lazenby trained on local newspapers in Sussex before joining the Press Association in Fleet Street, where he covered rugby union and cricket. He has worked for national newspapers, including The Times and the Sunday Times, and currently works as a freelance for the Daily Telegraph. He lives in London.
