A sporting nation is only limited by its imagination. Every time this story is told it changes; something is always added, embellished or dropped from the run-on side.

For more than 30 years, H.?G. Nelson has been finding the poetry in the punt and humour during half-time. Now, he turns his keen eye for facts and folly to the illustrious history of our great sporting nation.

H.?G. dives deep into the moments that have truly made us who we are. He reminds us of our leaders’ great sporting triumphs, from Harold Holt’s swimming to John Howard’s bowling; rewrites the record on legends such as ‘Aussie Joe’ Bugner and Jack Brabham; and explains why Australia’s reality TV is the best in the world.

The Fairytale is H.?G. Nelson’s magnum opus - an all-encompassing, no-holds-barred history of Australia at play, told through the stories of our sporting highs, lows and middles.