The Last Champion: The Life Of Fred Perry

Title

The Last Champion: The Life Of Fred Perry

Author

Jon Henderson

Publishers

UK : Yellow Jersey Press, Random House

Schedule

Published

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The Last Champion: The Life Of Fred Perry

The legendary Fred Perry is Britain's greatest ever tennis player - since the last of his three consecutive Wimbledon triumphs in 1936 no British man has reclaimed that ultimate prize. To mark the centenary of his birth in May 1909, Jon Henderson is writing The Last Champion: The Life of Fred Perry, the first biography of this iconic figure. The author will trace Fred Perry's captivating journey from working class roots to his dominance over his many opponents. He will follow Fred Perry to America as he pursued the riches of professionalism - one of the many facets of his life that prefigures contemporary concepts of sporting celebrity - uncovering for the first time the troubled private life behind Perry's glamorous image.

Fred Perry's name still resonates clearly today, both as sportsman and through his eponymous fashion label. In The Last Champion the remarkable story of a man both of - and beyond - his age will finally be told. UKCxC rights sold to Tristan Jones at Yellow Jersey Press, Random House.

Reviews

It's a great story, far meatier than the average sporting biography. Henderson has researched it well, tells it nicely and weighs up conflicting evidence wisely.
Matthew Engel, Financial Times
'a compelling tome, one that traces an extraordinary life'
Neil Harman, The Times
an enlightening portrait of a great sportsman
The Guardian
This is a labour of love, intelligence and exemplary literary skill by a veteran tennis correspondent.
Ronan Sheehan, Irish Times
Having covered every Wimbledon for the past 40 years, Henderson knows his stuff and the two years he spent researching this work has paid off with handsome dividends - a compelling read.
Sportsbookofthemonth.com
the first clear-eyed account of an extraordinary life
The Independent on Sunday
The book is worth reading, in any case, not just for the portrait of the unstoppable Fred but for the easy-flowing manner in which Jon Henderson, the doyen of tennis correspondents, evokes the glamour of the sporting 1930s.
Ferdinand Mount, The Times Literary Supplement

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© Mulcahy Conway Associates Ltd, 2012