In England, the latter years of the nineteenth century were a period of rapid and profound change in the role of women in sports. Kathleen McCrone describes this transformation and the social changes it helped to bring about.

Since women's entry into sports was chiefly a consequence of the campaign for better female education, Playing the Game begins with an account of sports at the Oxbridge women's colleges, at the girls' public schools, and at the new women's physical training colleges. It then looks at specific team sports such as hockey, lacrosse, and cricket as well as at...