Cardus Undimmed: The Last Decade

Cardus Undimmed, a limited edition of 250 copies, is a retrospect of Neville Cardus's last decade (1965-75) in which his mind and pen remained as vigorous as ever. Writing was his passion to the end.

Spiced with vignettes of cricketers (and musicians) whom Cardus is here remembering for the last time, often memorialising them: champagne batting and modesty from Stan McCabe; Herbert Sutcliffe, almost inhumanly imperturbable; the jester Cec Parkin; the dour antagonism emanating from Master Bowlers Sydney Barnes and Wilfred Rhodes, for whom cricket "just ain't fun".

These vignettes and many others intersperse Part 1, the core of which comes from a number of extended themes: Lancashire's cricketing renaissance under Jack Bond — and Cardus's pride in it as LCCC President; an engaging remembrance of Cardus by the eminent journalist, Elizabeth Grice; the sustaining friendship between Neville Cardus and his fellow music-critic giant, Michael Kennedy; Constantine, Worrell and the development of West Indian cricket and identity; and a dozen letters to Neville from the great operatic soprano, Lotte Lehmann, published here for the first time.

Part 2 of Cardus Undimmed focuses exclusively on six cricket writers: Cardus himself; John Arlott; Raymond Robertson-Glasgow; CLR James; EW Swanton; and CB Fry. Their individual styles and their personal relations with Cardus and each other are explored through a series of essays celebrating the grand tradition.

Contents
Elizabeth Grice Remembers Neville Cardus
Part 1: Ah, The Years, The Years

Chapter 1: Cardus Knighted; Michael & Neville, a Mancunian Musical Friendship

Chapter 2: The Pinnacle: President of an Ascendant Lancashire

Chapter 3: Cardus the Obituarist & Celebrant in Demand

(Woolley's 80th, and recollections of Hammond and Robertson-Glasgow; Woodfull, Mailey, McCabe; Leyland and Robinson; and "The Unique Sydney Barnes")

Chapter 4: Musical Interlude (including Barbirolli, Boult, Szell, Sargent)

Chapter 5: "Full Score" and the Lotte Lehmann Letters

Chapter 6: The Passing of Worrell and Constantine

Chapter 7: Cardus, Star of Television & Radio; Cecil Parkin and the Cardus Touch

Chapter 8: End Game (Sutcliffe's 80th; obituaries of Klemperer, Rhodes, Holmes, Freeman, Duckworth, Strudwick, Hallows, and Sir Neville Cardus)

Epilogue to Part 1: Michael Kennedy and the World of Cardus

Part 2: Cricket Writers: Cardus and Five More

Chapter 1: Cardus and the Grand Tradition

Chapter 2: John Arlott, the Individual Everyman

Chapter 3: Robertson-Glasgow, Miniaturist Supreme

Chapter 4: CLR James & the Caribbean Factor

Chapter 5: EW Swanton: A Most Exact Chronicler

Chapter 6: The Strange Case of Charles Burgess Fry

Cardus Undimmed is the fifth publication to come from the Neville Cardus Archive, joining My Dear Michael, The Elusive Mr Cardus, Cardus: a Reader's Guide, and Neville Cardus Reflects: a Writer's Notebook — see below for details of how to buy these titles.

All proceeds from the sale of all these books go to the Lancashire C.C.C. Library at Emirates Old Trafford.

PRICE
Price £5.00 inc. postage per book (UK postal addresses only).

HOW TO BUY

1. By post: Send a cheque for £5.00 made payable to Lancashire CCC and send to: Max Books, 19 Bromley Drive, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, CW4 7AX.