By Steven Carroll
Margaret Court
Margaret Court
Margaret Court. By Margaret Court
Pan Macmillan, $44.99
Most sporting autobiographies simply detail milestones in the subject's life, but rarely give a glimpse of what drives them. This one does. And you'll find the ghost of that drive on the grass courts of Albury where Margaret Smith, daughter of a staunchly Catholic mother and a father prone to excessive drinking, grew up. Smith emerged with a steely determination – and an extraordinary talent fostered by locals and the country's best. That combination led to three Wimbledon wins (first Australian woman) and the Grand Slam in 1970. She covers the triumphs, the hollow feeling afterwards, the burn-out years, marriage and revival. Then, in retirement, the dark night of the soul and becoming an ordained minister. A portrait of the complexities of success and life after.