The Wizard: Norman Brookes – Australia’s First Wimbledon Champion
Australian History Young Adult Non-Fiction Non-Fiction Sports Biography Tennis History Illustrated Biography
Richard Naughton’s hardcover biography “The Wizard: Norman Brookes – Australia’s First Wimbledon Champion” is the first full-length portrait of the trail-blazer who put Australian tennis on the world map. Published in 2011 and richly illustrated with rare photographs, match-day programmes and newspaper clippings, this 224-page volume charts Brookes’ journey from the lawn courts of Armadale to the 1907 Wimbledon title and on to his Davis Cup heroics that helped Australia dominate the international game. Readers discover how the left-hander’s innovative serve-and-volley style earned him the nickname “The Wizard” and why his sportsmanship and business acumen made him a national hero during the fledgling years of Federation Australia.
What makes this edition especially collectable is its combination of authoritative research and visual appeal: the high-quality hardback still carries its original dust jacket, every image is crisply reproduced on glossy stock, and the sewn binding ensures the book will withstand repeated reading. Because no prior biography existed, Naughton drew on family diaries, private letters and previously unseen Lawn Tennis Association archives, giving fans and historians fresh insights into Brookes’ victories overseas, his role in founding the Australian Open, and his later years as a philanthropist and administrator. Young adult and adult readers alike will find the narrative pace brisk, the match descriptions vivid, and the social context—an emerging nation seeking global recognition through sport—both educational and inspiring.
For collectors of Australian sporting history, tennis memorabilia or biographies of pioneering champions, this very-good-condition copy from a smoke-free home offers a scarce opportunity. Unlike later reprints, it retains the original 2011 dust-jacket artwork and all illustrative plates, making it an ideal gift for anyone who treasures first-edition sports stories or wants to understand how one determined player laid the groundwork for Australia’s century-long tennis supremacy.
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