Corvus Atlantic’s commercial fiction list which includes women’s, historical, romance, sci-fi, crime and thriller.

Evidence of its impact is continuing to pile up, from Jeff Astle's death in 2002 being ruled as a result of heading footballs to Sir Bobby Charlton becoming the fifth member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side to be diagnosed with the disease. But there are few pat endings like that in real life, and it takes a very sensitive and well-crafted book to tackle that impulse to believe in a happy ending without being deliberately cruel or tragic. Nancy, we learn, is an international lawyer and the chair and founder of Truce, an organisation that aims to promote peace through football in war-torn areas. From her childhood in New York and Puglia in Italy and the accident which nearly killed her, to the successful career in in commercial law and the passions which drive her on, despite all too public crises which would be the end of most of us.

The activity pack includes book club-style questions to ponder, instructions for playing cat’s cradle and a football-focused drawing activity. The bonus is, I have learned so much, about Bobby’s life that I did not previously know and it has been a privilege. I liked that the story didn’t shy away from the reality of war; a large part of the story deals with Polly coming to terms with her brother going missing, and what that really means. The book will be exactly the same ‘coffee table’ format as ‘The Tank’, lavishly illustrated from all eras of Bobby’s dazzling football career, covering his appearances at all levels of the beautiful game, including of course his goals, and heart wrenching, funny and extremely warm eulogies from friends and family of the man who was truly, “The Prince of the Beautiful game. Football became a favourite pastime and, before long, they were creating all-female sides and playing public matches to sell-out crowds, overshadowing the men’s football.

There is something scarily steely about her dismissal of the subject: 'Like all men in their weakness, Sven looked like a little boy forlorn,' she says of the former England coach's attempts to excuse himself. It covers everything from gender identity (Polly’s struggles with being ‘feminine’) to poverty to casual misogyny to the paralysing grief of seeing the young men you love go off to fight.Polly’s dramatic wartime story celebrates those bold young players who changed attitudes to women on the pitch and salutes the unsung heroes on the Home Front too. It feels so realistic in its depiction of working-class women in WW1 – Polly’s mum is only a side character in the very start and end of the story, and still her story will stick with me. The Beautiful Game and The Ugly Truth is an emotive examination of football and its ties to dementia. Mark Nicholas, the face of Channel 5’s Cricket on Five and anchor for Channel 9’s Test commentary team in Australia, has a unique knowledge and perspective on the world of cricket. If these women were not filled with love for football but also with the frustration of being placed second all their lives, they would not have succeeded.