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Game, set and match! Want to know more about forehands, volleys and how to hit a winning serve? Follow the expert advice of the "Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative" and pick-up top tips and techniques with real-life students, Megan, Helen, Chloe and Nathan. Before you know it you'll be ready to play on centre court at Wimbledon! ... Read more

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Robert Fulford (born 1969) is a leading English croquet player who has dominated the sport since the turn of the 1990s. Born in Colchester, England, he started to play croquet at his local school at the age of 15. Fulford has a light attitude towards the game, often travelling from cheap hotel or homes of local croquet players to the next because he only makes about £8000 a year from the sport. One tournament yielded him a lawnmower. He is an alumnus of the University of Durham, where amongst some of his friends he had the nickname 'fluffy' He supplements his sporting career by working for a stone merchants in Thurrock in Essex. Robert has become a CPA and it is not clear what effect, if any, this will have upon his sporting pursuits. ... Read more

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Chapters: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London Tecumsehs, the New York Athletic Club, Gipsies Football Club, Marlborough Nomads, Utica Curling Club, North of Ireland Fc, Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society, Perthshire Rfc, Thames Hare and Hounds, Royal Connaught Boat Club. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 56. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), also known as the All-England Club, based at Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass. Initially an amateur event that occupied club members and their friends for a few days each summer, the championships have become far more prominent than the club itself. However, it still operates as a members tennis club, with many courts in use all year round. The Club has 375 full members, about 100 temporary playing members, and a number of honorary members, including past Wimbledon singles champions and people who have rendered distinguished service to the game. In order to become a full or temporary member, an applicant must obtain letters of support from four existing full members, two of whom must have known the applicant for at least three years. The name is then be added to the Candidates' List. Honorary Members are elected from time to time by the club's Committee. Membership carries with it the right to purchase two tickets for each day of the Wimbledon Championships. The patron of the club is Queen Elizabeth II, and the President is H.R.H. The Duke of Kent The club was founded in 1868 at the height of a croquet craze as the All England Croquet Club, and held its first croquet competition in 1870. Its original ground was situated off Worple Road, ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1598742 ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Championships, Wimbledon, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Plough Lane, Radio Wimbledon, Tooting ... Read more

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Chapters: 1868 in Chess, 1868 in Cricket, Sports Clubs Established in 1868, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London Tecumsehs, the New York Athletic Club, Australian Aboriginal Cricket Team in England in 1868, Gipsies Football Club, Marlborough Nomads, Utica Curling Club, North of Ireland Fc, Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society, Perthshire Rfc, Ajeeb, 1868 English Cricket Season, Thames Hare and Hounds, Royal Connaught Boat Club. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 64. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), also known as the All-England Club, based at Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass. Initially an amateur event that occupied club members and their friends for a few days each summer, the championships have become far more prominent than the club itself. However, it still operates as a members tennis club, with many courts in use all year round. The Club has 375 full members, about 100 temporary playing members, and a number of honorary members, including past Wimbledon singles champions and people who have rendered distinguished service to the game. In order to become a full or temporary member, an applicant must obtain letters of support from four existing full members, two of whom must have known the applicant for at least three years. The name is then be added to the Candidates' List. Honorary Members are elected from time to time by the club's Committee. Membership carries with it the right to purchase two tickets for each day of the Wimbledon Championships. The patron of the club is Queen Elizabeth II, and the President is H.R.H. The Duke of Kent The club was founded in 1868 at the ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1598742 ... Read more

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Chapters: Robert Fulford, Chris Clarke, Ian Lines, Lily Gower, Isaac Spratt, Jeff Dawson, Reginald Bamford. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 26. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Robert Fulford (born 1969) is a leading English croquet player who has dominated the sport since the turn of the 1990s. Born in Colchester, England, he started to play croquet at his local school at the age of 15. Fulford has a light attitude towards the game, often travelling from cheap hotel or homes of local croquet players to the next because he only makes about £8000 a year from the sport. One tournament yielded him a lawnmower. He is an alumnus of the University of Durham, where amongst some of his friends he had the nickname 'fluffy' He supplements his sporting career by working for a stone merchants in Thurrock in Essex. Robert has become a CPA and it is not clear what effect, if any, this will have upon his sporting pursuits. Robert also coaches croquet, particularly in Australia and the Chattooga Club in North Carolina. Robert has made croquet videos with Australian croquet expert Kevin Brereton in which Robert teaches both basic and advanced break tactics. He has won the world championship 5 times: Fulford has also won the Presidents Cup eight times (1989, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2009), the Open Championship nine times (1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008) and the Men's Championship three times (1990, 1998, 2006). Fulford playing style includes the ability to play a range of shots. His tactic of peeling an opponent's ball through hoop 1 makes a triple peel as hard as possible for the opponent. His sextuple peels are also more frequent than those of any other player. Robert Fulford uses an Irish grip and employs "casting" about three times before each shot. He ha...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=454463 ... Read more

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Chapters: Potato. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 38. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport, which involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court. Pall mall illustrated in Old English Sports, Pastimes and Customs, published 1891. Original image by Lauthier 1717The oldest piece of paper to bear the word "croquet" with a description of the modern game is the set of rules registered by Isaac Spratt in November 1856 with the Stationers' Company in London. This record is now in the English Public Records Office. In 1868 the first croquet all-comers' meeting was held at Moreton-in the-Marsh, Gloucestershire and in the same year the All England Croquet Club was formed at Wimbledon. In the book Queen of Games: The History of Croquet author Nicky Smith presents two theories of the origin of the game that took England by storm in the 1860s and which led to the spread of the modern game overseas. The first explanation is that the ancestral game was introduced to Britain from France during the reign of Charles II of England, and was played under the name of paille maille or pall mall, derived ultimately from Latin words for "ball and mallet". This was the explanation given in the ninth edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, dated 1877. In his 1810 book entitled "The sports and pastimes of the people of England," Joseph Strutt describes the way Pall Mall was played in England in the early seventeenth century: "Pale-maille is a game wherein a round box ball is struck with a mallet through a high arch of iron, which he that can do at the fewest blows, or at the number agreed upon, wins.' It is to be observed, that there are two of these arches, that is one a...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=6643 ... Read more

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This introduction to croquet provides instruction on equipment, the rules, the first moves, basic tactics, making a break and scoring and handicaps. Other features include exercises for practice, strong illustration and a glossary of croquet terms. Don Gaunt played croquet for England, he is a member of the Croquet Association Council, an examining referee and "Coach of the Year 1991" and a member of Cheltenham Croquet Club. ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club, Grimsby Tennis Centre, Centre Court, Hurlingham Club, Queen's Club, Thames Ditton Lawn Tennis Club, No. 2 Court, Abbey Lawn, Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society, Old College Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, No. 1 Court, Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston Priory Club, Nottingham Tennis Centre, Old Hill Tennis Club. Excerpt:The Abbey Lawn in Bourne, Lincolnshire , England , is a centrally-located space used as the principal recreation ground in the town. The cricket , tennis , bowls , pétanque , and football clubs play their home fixtures here. The hockey club practices here, though it now plays its fixtures on an all-weather pitch elsewhere. " The Lawn " is the site of the Bourne Outdoor Swimming Pool and its associated facilities. Origins Though all or most of the land once formed part of the estate of the canons of Bourne Abbey and the swimming pool originated as one of their fish ponds , the present form of the Abbey Lawn and its name derive from the 18th century development of a sheep lawn as an adjunct of the house built by George Pochin, the then lord of the manor of Bourne Abbots. His house was on the site of the claustral buildings of the monastic abbey which had been dissolved in 1536. A sheep lawn was among the gentry , the equivalent of an aristocrat 's deer park . While the part of the Abbey Church which had been used by the parish was retained, the buildings formerly used by the canons were demolished wholly or partially except where a current use could be found for them. Much of the site was therefore vacant around the period of landowner prosperity and investment which arose in relation to the agricultural enclosures of the 1766 Act of Parliament which related to most of ... ... Read more

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This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Hurd and Houghton in 1868 in 62 pages; Description: "Riverside, Cambridge: Stereotyped and printed by H. O. Houghton and Company."--p. [2].; Subjects: Croquet; Sports ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Croquetis a lawn game, played both as arecreational pastime and as a competitive sport,which involves hitting wooden or plastic balls witha malletthrough hoops embedded into the grassplaying court. The oldest piece of paper to bear theword "croquet" with a description of the modern gameis the set of rules registered by Isaac Spratt inNovember 1856 with the Stationers' Company inLondon. This record is now in the English PublicRecords Office. In 1868 the first croquet all- comers' meeting was held at Moreton-in-Marsh,Gloucestershire and in the same year the All EnglandCroquet Club was formed at Wimbledon, London. In thebook Queen of Games: The History of CroquetauthorNicky Smith presents two theories of the origin ofthe game that took Englandby storm in the 1860sand which led to the spread of the modern gameoverseas. ... Read more

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Chapters: Croquet at the 1900 Summer Olympics - Singles, Two Balls, Croquet at the 1900 Summer Olympics - Singles, One Ball, Roque at the 1904 Summer Olympics, Croquet at the 1900 Summer Olympics - Doubles. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 23. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The 1900 Olympic Croquet one-ball singles tournament was held on 4 July 1900. Six athletes from France competed. The second round was conducted as a round-robin. ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=12162345 ... Read more

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This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format.Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship. ... Read more

Product Description
This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format.Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship. ... Read more

Product Description
This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format.Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship. ... Read more

Product Description
This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format.Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (23)

No Nest for the Wicket
I have enjoyed all of the books by Donna Andrews. I have always loved mysteries but her
books have something special.

No Nest for the Wicket

Suffering from a chronic inability to say "no" to her friends and family, blacksmith Meg Langslow finds herself sliding down a bank during the eXtreme croquette tournament she was talked into hosting ... and lands on the body of a strange woman. As life goes on for nearly everyone Meg finds herself investigating the mysterious death and daydreaming about which suspect would make her life easiest. No Nest for the Wicket is an enjoyable cozy mystery, and echoes the tone and storyline of the previous books nicely.

Another great Meg Lanslow book!
You have to read this book.So many possible suspects.So many reasons to commit the crime.The culprit will suprise you.Who knows.Maybe while you are at it you will try Xtreme Croquet.

Oddly enough eXtreme croquet is real
A new sports craze has swept through the quiet college town Caerphilly, Virginia - eXtreme croquet - and who better to be involved in any sort of a craze than Meg Langslow and her eccentric extended family?Meg and Michael are finally getting their ongoing renovations of their ramshackle Victorian farmhouse in hand so when the local eXtreme croquet fans - lead by one of Meg's zanier distant relatives - were looking for a challenging place to hold a tournament Meg found herself once again drafted as both a participant and hostess.It wasn't long before her never ending list of things to do grew to encompass identifying the dead woman she discovered as a truly extreme course hazard and then giving the local sheriff a hand finding the killer.And in her spare time looking for a way to stop the construction of an outlet mall across the road from her quiet country home.

This is the seventh in the series of comic cozies featuring Meg Langslow, an ornamental blacksmith, her actor/drama professor boyfriend Michael, and their extended family of outrageously eccentrics.Each of the adventures manages to include birds in one form or another, hilarious mishaps and a dead body or two that combine in a way to keep the reader guessing and laughing until the end.

As is often the case with cozy mysteries the overall story arc is pronounced, so much so that for maximum enjoyment the reader should begin with the first, MURDER WITH PEACOCKS, and proceeding in order as much as possible.

Entertaining, witty, well-plotted - one of best in the series
I generally enjoy this series, and when I see that the author has a new book out, I always get it.I have sometimes been disappointed because it's not as good as I expected, but that's not the case with this book -- it was one of the better in the series, all of which have a bird reference in the title.

In this case, the nest belongs to a duck -- named Duck.You can imagine what happens when someone calls her...That gives you an idea of the humor in the book.But even funnier is the game that is played throughout the book -- eXtreme croquet!I guess there really is such a game, and it sounds fun -- croquet played on rough terrain rather than the usual flat lawn.The series' "detective," Meg Laslow, lives on a Virginia farm with her fiance Michael.They're renovating an old farmhouse, and since they live in the country, they're hosting an eXtreme croquet tournament.

Almost immediately, Meg stumbles across a body -- an unknown woman who has apparently been murdered with a croquet mallet.Because the murder was on land used for the croquet tournament, it seems likely that someone in the tournament or working on the house committed the murder.Although the sheriff is investigating, Meg is interested in discovering which of the people at her place for the weekend is the killer.

Staying with Meg and Michael are Meg's colorful parents and brother and other assorted family members (where are all these people sleeping?not clear), who add to the humor.Also staying with Meg and Michael is Spike (actually belongs to Michael's mother), a tiny little dog who has been through umpteen dog trainers and still bites unwary people. He also adds to the humor.

I really didn't guess "who dun it," which is to the author's credit, as I read so many mysteries that I often do.Only toward the last 75 pages did I add the person to my "possible killer" list.

If you haven't read any in the series, if you like witty, cozy mysteries, you're likely to enjoy this one.If you are already a fan, you won't be disappointed.
... Read more