Manchester Corinthians

Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History has been published and signed copies can now be ordered direct from the author Dr Gary James. It costs £25 (including UK postage & packaging) and can be ordered below. The book is the result of many years research, interviewing and promotion of the club’s activities by Gary.

Everyone buying the book will enjoy reading about these remarkable women. The following recommendation comes from the people behind the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award:

Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History includes interviews with players from every season of the club from several founding players back in 1948-49 through to those playing for the club in its final days over 40 years later (yes, that’s right – over 40 years later!). The book finally tells the story of the club from start to finish via the voices of the women who played. Via these voices the entire history of the club is explained for the first time, with the key figures identified and remembered. There’s a remarkable trail of women linking the first game with the last. Over fifty players or their families have been interviewed for this important publication.

The book is hardback and has been published in a similar style and quality to Gary’s acclaimed Manchester City Women: An Oral History. It is destined to be another landmark publication on a major, pioneering women’s football club.

The players’ remarkable stories and memories are supported with an amazing array of photographs, newspaper articles, match programmes, trophies and other items of memorabilia from EVERY era of the club’s existence.

Alongside chapters chronicling the history of the club there are features on founder Percy Ashley, who dedicated his life to promoting women’s football, and on Gladys Aikin (a key figure not only with the Corinthians but also with the early years of the Women’s Football Association) and George Aikin, who continued to take the Corinthians on tours into the 1980s. There are special features on the major tours of the 1950s and 1960s when Percy Ashley led the Corinthians to major international success, plus later trips to France and Spain.

Talking about the book, Gary James says: ‘I’ve known several of the Corinthians for almost 40 years. Another taught my sister at PE in the 1980s. Their stories of what this club was and what it achieved are remarkable. For years I’ve wanted their story to be told and I’ve been interviewing members of the team for many, many years.

‘Researching and promoting the Corinthians’ story has been a major aim of mine for several years – and a real privilege. As a historian of Manchester football I’ve always been keen to ensure all aspects of the game’s development in the region is known and recognised for what it is. Sadly, the history of women’s sport within Manchester (and nationwide) has not been given the attention it deserves and so this book will, I hope, add significantly to our knowledge of another area of football that Manchester has led on. The Corinthians have added so much to the development of women’s football and it’s an absolute joy helping to get their stories out.’

This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and consists of 356 pages. It is illustrated throughout and you can order it now for £25 (including UK postage and packaging).

If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.

You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.

Sadly, Gary James’ earlier book on women’s football Manchester City Women: An Oral History is now out of print.