Books by Kevin Jefferys

Britain's tennis players are often regarded as gallant losers and also-rans. There was a painful 76-year gap between the grand slam triumphs of Fred Perry and Andy Murray, and most Brits perennially fail to progress beyond the early rounds at Wimbledon. But in this first detailed account of Britain's place in world tennis from the Victorian period to the present day, historian Kevin Jefferys shows that British players have a surprisingly strong record. He traces the fluctuations in the nation's tennis fortunes - with barren spells counterbalanced by periods of ascendancy - and looks beyond the domestic obsession with Wimbledon to highlight British successes at other grand slam tournaments, in the Davis Cup and in Olympic tennis. The author also focuses on key individuals, providing fresh profiles of his selection of the best British players of all time: the men and women who have delivered most on the international stage, from the time of the Renshaw brothers in the 1880s to Andy and Jamie Murray today.

What caused the 'strange death of Labour Britain'? By drawing together these themes, Dr Jeffreys provides a wide-ranging introductory study: the first historical overview of the Labour party to cover the whole period between the eras of Clement Attlee and John Smith.

Ideal for students, historians, social scientists and sport enthusiasts alike, Sport and Politics in Modern Britain provides the fullest assessment yet of this important topic, bringing sport sharply into focus as a contested domain in public and political debate.

He also analyses broader questions such as post-war 'decline', the nature of 'consensus politics' and the electoral effects of Britain's entrenched class system. In the first major stuy to have access to all official papers for 1951-64, Dr Jefferys provides a fresh critique of a key period in British political history.

Under the leadership of Clement Attlee, the Labour governments of 1945-1951 presided over major changes both at home and abroad. In this volume, Kevin Jeffreys examines the Attlee governments' performance, the impact at the time and the course they set for subsequent administrations.