{"product_id":"half-time-book-robert-winder-9781472908926","title":"Half-Time","description":"\u003cp\u003eSet against the backdrop of depression-era politics, 1934 was an\u003ci\u003e annus mirabilis\u003c\/i\u003e 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 efforts made for a heady spectacle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEngland’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\u003ci\u003e Daily Express\u003c\/i\u003e 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 hat-trick.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTogether, these three contests and these three singular life stories weave a vivid portrait of an England that has faded from view. \u003ci\u003eHalf-Time\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates a time of intense and rapid social and cultural change, a time that was both the last hurrah of the \u003ci\u003eancien regime\u003c\/i\u003e and the stirring of something new. And moving through it, famous actors on a grand stage, are three very English heroes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49586113577233,"sku":"GOR006708638","price":4.2,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51611831271697,"sku":"GOR010261263","price":4.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53058665021713,"sku":"GOR008015571","price":4.4,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53732858462481,"sku":"GOR015020535","price":3.9,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1472908929.jpg?v=1785971523","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/products\/half-time-book-robert-winder-9781472908926","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}