• 1923

  • The Mystery of Lot 212 and a Tour de France Obsession
  • By: Ned Boulting
  • Narrated by: Ned Boulting
  • Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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1923  By  cover art

1923

By: Ned Boulting
Narrated by: Ned Boulting
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Publisher's summary

The story of an obsession. When cycling commentator Ned Boulting bought a length of Pathé news film featuring a stage of the Tour de France from 1923, he set about learning everything he could about it - taking him on an intriguing journey that encompasses travelogue, history and detective story.

In the autumn of 2020 Ned Boulting (ITV head cycling commentator and Tour de France obsessive) bought a length of Pathé news film from a London auction house. All he knew was it was film from the Tour de France, a long time ago. Once restored it became clear it was a short sequence of shots from stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France. No longer than 2.5 minutes long, it featured half a dozen sequences, including a lone rider crossing a bridge.

Ned set about learning everything he could about the sequence – studying each frame, face and building – until he had squeezed the meaning from it. It sets him off in fascinating directions, encompassing travelogue, history, mystery story – to explain, to go deeper into this moment in time, captured on his little film.

Join him as he explores the history of cycling and France just five years after WWI – meeting characters like Henri Pélissier, who won the Tour that year but who would within the decade be shot dead by his lover using the same pistol with which his wife had killed herself. And Theophile Beeckman – the lone rider on the bridge.

©2023 Ned Boulting (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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A great meandering through the interwar years

Pleasantly pleased by 1923. Ned weaved together a great narrative about historical events that took place during stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France. This book should please not only cyclists, but also history buffs.

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Intersections

Ned masterfully connects sport, politics, and art from such a brief moment in history (2 minutes, 31 seconds) that it left me in awe of how all of life intersects...not just across borders but across time itself.

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wonderful story and performances by Ned!

Loved the book and performance by Ned. You don’t need to be a cycling fan to love it!

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Very Interesting

Pieced together nicely. I can see how this would turn obsessive. Well read. Amazing to learn more about these riders and their stories. They were the original Gravel riders.

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