Book review: The heath and the horse: a history of racing and art on Newmarket Heath

A book on Newmarket Heath and its racing might seem at first sight merely another example of the local history of sport, but this is far more than a local history. Newmarket's various racecourses across the Heath and associated buildings have been key sites in terms of the history of British horseracing since the 1660s, albeit slightly less popular around 1740 and again in a brief collapse in its fortunes from the 1830s up to the 1850s. So this coffee-table-size book is particularly welcome in providing an outstandingly well-researched and written account of its history. There is much to praise about its comprehensive and thoughtfully analytical coverage. As a cultural historian of racing myself, I still found much to interest me and material that offered new and original insights.