Alex Massie Alex Massie

Sport, for the English, has always been a defiant assertion of liberty

Whether hunting, bull-baiting, boxing or poaching, the English have long enjoyed a spot of anarchic violence, says Robert Colls

Bull-baiting: an illustration from British Sports by Henry Alken, published in 1821. Bridgeman Images 
issue 22 August 2020
  • Comments

  • This Sporting Life: Sport and Liberty in England 1760–1960

    Robert Colls

    OUP, pp. 416, £25

  • Spirit of Cricket: Reflections on Play and Life

    Mike Brearley

    Constable, pp. 256, £20

  • The Breath of Sadness: On Love, Grief and Cricket

    Ian Ridley

    Floodlit Dreams, pp. 320, £13

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY 3 MONTHS FOR $5
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Start your 3-month trial today for just $5 and subscribe to more than one view

Read next

Trending

Michael Simmons

Labour’s benefits cuts aren’t working

Britain’s welfare crisis may have slipped from the front pages following Liz Kendall’s £4.8 billion worth of cuts announced ahead of the Spring Statement, but the problems haven’t gone away. Figures quietly released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) this week show that, despite Labour’s planned ‘reforms’ to the benefits system, nearly a

More on poaching

Also by Alex Massie

Latest

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in