''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

essay by British author

Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir '' Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work ...

. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, U.S.). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", but later paperback editions were not.

Book

''Fever Pitch'', first published in 1992, is a memoir and Hornby's second book. It tells the story of the author's relationship with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, and with

Arsenal Football Club Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (incl ...

in particular. It consists of several chapters in chronological order, from the time the author first became a football fan as a child until his early thirties. Each chapter is about a football match that he remembers watching, most but not all at

Arsenal Stadium Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as "Highbury" due to its location and was given the affectionate nicknam ...

, Highbury, and how it related to the events that were going on with his life. As well as recounting Arsenal's highs and lows, Hornby talks about other football clubs that play in London, and his interest in the contrasting surroundings of

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

and Cambridge City, whose matches he attends while at university. ''Fever Pitch'' sold over a million copies in the United Kingdom. It won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 1992 and was reprinted with a new cover and made available as part of the 2005–06

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

membership pack as part of the "Final Salute" to Highbury Stadium. The book was made a

Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

Modern Classic in August 2012.

Adaptations

1997 film

A 1997 film version of ''Fever Pitch'', with a screenplay adapted by Hornby, fictionalised the story, concentrating on Arsenal's First Division championship-winning season in 1988–89 and its effect on the protagonist's romantic relationship. Paul Ashworth, played by

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...

, the character based on Hornby, a teacher at a school in North London and his burgeoning romance with Sarah Hughes (

Ruth Gemmell Ruth Katrin Gemmell (born October 1967) is an English actress. She starred in the film ''Fever Pitch'' in 1997 which was followed by supporting roles in television series ''EastEnders'', '' Casualty'', '' Home Fires'' and '' Penny Dreadful.'' ...

), a new teacher who joins Ashworth's school. The film culminates with Arsenal playing title rivals

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in the final game of the season on 26 May 1989, in which a last minute

Michael Thomas Michael or Mike Thomas may refer to: Entertainment * Michael M. Thomas (born 1936), American novelist of financial thrillers * Michael Tilson Thomas (born 1944), American conductor, pianist, and composer * Michael Thomas (actor) (1952–2019), B ...

goal gives Arsenal the 2–0 win they need to win the title. ''Fever Pitch'' compares Hornby's life at Arsenal and other football clubs.

2005 film

A 2005 film remake of ''Fever Pitch'', directed by the

Farrelly Brothers Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together, including ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Outside Providence'', and ''There's Something ...

with Hornby as an executive producer, starred

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The To ...

and

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

. In this adaptation (based on the 1997 film, not the 1992 book), the action is moved from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, the focus of the protagonist's obsession is shifted from

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and the story is based on the 2004

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

season, which culminated with the team's first

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

in 86 years. This championship was entirely coincidental; the 2005 version was being filmed during the 2004 regular season, including scenes filmed at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...

during actual games. As the Red Sox continued to progress through the playoffs, the Farrellys rewrote the script to include the historic moment. The movie was renamed ''The Perfect Catch'' outside North America to avoid confusion with the 1997 film.

References

External links

Nick Hornby discusses ''Fever Pitch''
on the BBC ''

World Book Club ''World Book Club'' is a radio programme on the BBC World Service. Each edition of the programme, which is broadcast on the first Saturday of the month with repeats into the following Monday, features a famous author discussing one of his or her ...