Queen of the Court

The Many Lives of Tennis Legend Alice Marble

Narrated by Moniqua Plante
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Pub Date Aug 15 2023 | Archive Date Aug 15 2023

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Description

In August 1939, Alice Marble graced the cover of Life magazine, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. She was a glamorous worldwide celebrity, having that year won singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles tennis titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open, then an unprecedented feat. Yet today one of America's greatest female athletes and most charismatic characters is largely forgotten. Queen of the Court places her back on center stage. Given a tennis racket at thirteen, she took to the sport immediately, rising to the top with a powerful, aggressive serve-and-volley style unseen in women's tennis. A champion at the height of her fame in the late 1930s, she also designed a clothing line and sang as a performer. World War II derailed her amateur tennis career, but her life off the court was even more eventful. Perhaps her greatest legacy lies in her successful efforts to persuade the all-white US Lawn Tennis Association to change its policy and allow African American star Althea Gibson to compete for the US championship in 1950, thereby breaking tennis's color barrier. In two memoirs, Marble showed herself to be an at-times unreliable narrator of her own life, which Madeleine Blais navigates skillfully, especially Marble's claims of having been a spy during World War II. In Queen of the Court, Blais recaptures a glittering life story.

In August 1939, Alice Marble graced the cover of Life magazine, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. She was a glamorous worldwide celebrity, having that year won singles, women's doubles, and mixed...


A Note From the Publisher

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Madeleine Blais

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Madeleine Blais


Advance Praise

“Madeleine Blais, one of my favorite all-time writers, has brought Alice Marble back to life in all of her splendid contradictions, breaking through the mythology to restore the too-often overlooked tennis great to her rightful place in the history of women in sports.” —David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Path Lit By Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe

“Extensively researched and beautifully written . . . The author’s journalistic strength shines throughout, especially navigating conflicting and inconsistent aspects of Marble’s life detailed in her memoirs (was she a WWII spy? married?).” —Booklist starred review

“Madeleine Blais, one of my favorite all-time writers, has brought Alice Marble back to life in all of her splendid contradictions, breaking through the mythology to restore the too-often overlooked...


Available Editions

EDITION Audiobook, Unabridged
ISBN 9798350808766
PRICE $24.99 (USD)
DURATION 15 Hours, 47 Minutes

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (AUDIO)

Average rating from 4 members


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