Finished reading Roy Hattersley's 'The Edwardians'. Not an easy/pleasurable read so I had to use it more as a reference text than as continuous prose. Hattersley speaks so eloquently, passionately, persuasively, in the TV documentaries I've seen him in, so I had high expectations. Oh well, so it goes.
Did find a few BH refs. Eg. pg 331, in chapter headed 'The End of Innocence' makes mention of an unnamed black American jockey (could it be Willie Simms (1870-1927)?) who'd come to England in 1887, ten years before the American jockey Ted Sloan. Both men had used 'the forward seat' position.
The focus on writers of the age was not very helpful.
Overall: as an outline of the period - only in passing - but at least it collects the key players in one volume and so could be a useful starting point.
