1923 cover art

1923

The Mystery of Lot 212 and a Tour de France Obsession

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1923

By: Ned Boulting
Narrated by: Ned Boulting
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Bloomsbury presents 1923 written and read by Ned Boulting.

WINNER OF THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2024 CYCLING BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023: SPORT
NOMINATED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

'An absorbing mix of historical sleuthing and travel writing'
The Telegraph

'[a] fascinating and often touching book… Wonderful'
The Times

The story of an obsession. When cycling commentator Ned Boulting bought a length of Pathé news film featuring a stage of the Tour de France from 1923 he set about learning everything he could about it – taking him on an intriguing journey that encompasses travelogue, history and detective story.

In the autumn of 2020 Ned Boulting (ITV head cycling commentator and Tour de France obsessive) bought a length of Pathé news film from a London auction house. All he knew was it was film from the Tour de France, a long time ago. Once restored it became clear it was a short sequence of shots from stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France. No longer than 2.5 minutes long, it featured half a dozen sequences, including a lone rider crossing a bridge.

Ned set about learning everything he could about the sequence – studying each frame, face and building – until he had squeezed the meaning from it. It sets him off in fascinating directions, encompassing travelogue, history, mystery story – to explain, to go deeper into this moment in time, captured on his little film.

Join him as he explores the history of cycling and France just five years after WWI.©2023 Ned Boulting (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Cycling Europe France Sports History Sports Writing Sports
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Critic reviews

[a] fascinating and often touching book… Wonderful
An absorbing mix of historical sleuthing and travel writing
Spellbinding
A captivating journey of discovery into a lost world. A real joy to read.
Witty, discursive, and tons of fun, Ned Boulting has the Tour de France under his skin, and you will too by the time you've read this
Ned's captivating book explores one man's obsession with this magnificent event and casts an intriguing light on a tiny fragment of a race long gone by
Ned has created a rich tapestry from the finest of threads ... I felt transported back with him to the very origins of bike racing and the world that created it
one of the most intelligent sporting books i have come across…the writing is compulsive, eloquently conveying the twists and turns of the story as it unfolds…excellent (thewashingmachinepost)
There has never been a cycling book quite like this one. A scrap of newsreel film, a century old and two and a half minutes long, sweeps Ned Boulting back not just into the world of a forgotten hero of the Tour de France but into the forces that shaped that world: a collision of sport, war, family and destiny. And as he searches for the tiniest clues among the faded celluloid shadows, he carries us along with him, making us his companions on a remarkable mission of rediscovery
Delightful (Dara Ó Briain)
utterly captivating…an amazing concept and a truly fascinating adventure into cycling, history and people… a truly addictive read.
Beginning with a fragment of a century-old race, Ned has written a ‘biography of the unknown rider’. And in honouring him he’s told us more about bike racing, the Tour and about Europe in the years between the wars than we’d ever have learned from a book about a star
This is a wonderful piece of writing that transcends sport. (New European)
Boulting’s enthusiasm for the footage is catching. [He] is a sympathetic writer and an extremely knowledgeable historian. (Times Literary Supplement)
Witty, discursive, and tons of fun, Ned Boulting has the Tour De France under his skin, and you will too by the time you read this (Al Murray)
An engaging melange of sports writing, history, travelogue and detective story... Fascinating
An exceptional book
A great example of what constitutes the best longform writing about sport (The New European)
A reminder that bike racing is inextricably bound to the history, characters and contours of its surroundings.
Such a poignant book. Ned Boulting is conjuring ghosts. I don't know of many things more thrilling than this
the ITV commentator’s timely and lively account celebrates a lost hero of the 1923 Tour de France - The Daily Telegraph
Clever and original ... Black and white grainy ghosts are brought back to colourful life in a tale which is part sport, history, travel and detective story.
All stars
Most relevant
From someone that doesn't have the patience to read books, Ned's elloquently wholesome writing, and warm tones of narration had me compelled from start to end. This is not a novel about cycling, it encompasses so much more although it Never Strays Far, it is so beautifully crafted that it will appeal to all. Chapeau Ned.

Excuisite story telling!

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By looking into the granular detail of the short piece of film bought at auction so many lives and stories are discovered. A fascinating insight into a period of cycling and history I knew little about.

From a short clip of film so many interesting stories

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From the very beginning of this story you are gripped by it. Following Ned as he goes further and further into researching a simple short news reel from over a century ago is truly captivating. And he writes (or reads in this case) about the whole thing beautifully.

One of the best

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A fantastic story. Ned builds an amazing tale, both historical and 21st century, from a chance encounter with a roll of film.

Based around cycling/Tour de France but not really a cycling book, it's much more than that as it delves into continental Europe between the wars, and trying to research some long forgotten and long lost people and places whilst trapped in a different country during COVID lockdown. All brilliantly read by the author.

Highly recommended

Get Lost in France (and Belgium) for 100 years

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I loved how Ned told the story of a tiny piece of film gripping his waking thoughts and extrapolating it out to tell the macro story of Europe during its strangest decade. Great read and wonderful story.

Such a delightful journey through the most niche of obsessions!

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