MCC Library Cricket Series: Full Corset and Stockings: A History of Women's Cricket

Since the 1930s, women have been champions and pioneers in the game of cricket – and yet their stories remain mostly untold.

Why did women’s cricket completely disappear from public view in the 1950s, especially when the 1930s was considered to be ‘the golden age’ of the women’s game? Why did it take until the last couple of decades for women’s cricket to regain its pre-eminence in the minds of the sporting public?

These are the questions that Full Corset and Stockings: A History of Women’s Cricket will attempt to answer by drawing on historic research, player profiles and stories, personal reflections and extensive interviews with both past and present players and officials.

Full Corset and Stockings details the history of women’s cricket in England and the game’s evolution as it moved to Australia, sharing the unknown stories of professional English and Australian players such as Emily Whatman (mother and childhood-trainer of men’s cricket legend Don Bradman), left-arm bowler Peggy Antonio, and the author’s own mother Nesta Williams. From the 1800s through to the Great Depression and the height of the women’s game, to the re-emergence of women’s cricket in the twenty-first century, Horne shines a light on the influential women of a historic Australian sport.

Craig Horne has worked as a public servant, speech writer, archaeological surveyor, musician and author. His previous works include a trio of music biographies, and his latest historical work: Line of Blood: The truth of Alfred Howitt. Full Corset and Stockings will be Horne’s fifth book with Melbourne Books.

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