John Nyren's famous account of the matches of the Hambledon club on Broadhalfpenny Down in the 1770s has passed into cricketing legend, establishing an ideal version of Hambledon at the centre of English cricket history. So, as David Underdown shows in many original and unexpected ways, it was. But Nyren's account conceals as much as it evokes. Setting Hambledon thoroughly in its historical context - social, cultural and political - is the main purpose of this book.