The Great Romantic

Book excerpt: Neville Cardus described how one majestic stroke-maker 'made music' and 'spread beauty' with his bat. Between two world wars, Cardus became the laureate of cricket by doing the same with words, changing sports journalism for ever. Yet the life of the man venerated for his exquisite phrase-making and penchant for literary and musical allusions was anything but conventional. His mother was a prostitute, he never knew his father and he received little education. Infatuations with younger women ran parallel to a decidedly unromantic marriage, and the supreme stylist's aversion to factual accuracy led to his once reporting on a match he didn't attend. But despite his impoverished origins, Cardus also prospered in another class-conscious profession, becoming a music critic of international renown.