The Fair Fight

April 27, 2015
In this period novel, Freeman introduces readers to two diametrically opposite Englishwomen of the early 19th century. First is Ruth Downs, who is born and raised with her sister, Dora, in a brothel in Bristol called "the convent."Deemed not attractive enough to serve the brothel's clientele, Ruth accidentally stumbles upon a career as a bare-knuckle boxer fighting men for money. Her patron, Granville Dryer, is also Dora's regular client. The second woman is the well-born but pox-scarred Charlotte Sinclair, who marries Dryer to get away from her debauched brother, Perry. She finds life as a married woman boring, but one day, while attending the St. James's Fair, she is transfixed by the sight of Ruth in the ring. When Dryer decides to promote Ruth's boxer husband, Tom Webber, this brings Charlotte into contact with Ruth, who secretly teaches Charlotte how to box and becomes her sparring partner. But Tom's bad showing in London changes the game for all involved. Freeman cleverly uses Ruth and Charlotte to show how 19th-century women, no matter their circumstances, had few choices in their lives. Her evocation of the seedier aspects of Georgian England is persuasive, even for readers who don't know a cove from a cull. But the narrative fails to follow through on the promise of its premise, and the melodramatic pile-up of domestic and romantic entanglements overwhelms the more exciting story of what happens inside the prize ring.

Starred review from March 1, 2015
A lady boxer, a poxy lady and a louche pretty boy tangle in 18th-century England."I'd like to say that my beginnings were humble, but they weren't beginnings, because I never really left them but for a short while." This is Ruth, and the birthplace and lifelong home she's referring to is a Bristol whorehouse known as "the convent." When her older half sister, Dora, is drafted at "12 or 13" into the ranks of their mother's "misses," plain-faced Ruth feels left out and jealous, not least of the big, fat piece of bacon Dora now rates at the breakfast table. The tension erupts into a catfight, which the gentleman patrons witness with such enthusiasm that it's moved to the yard outside and bets are placed. One of the onlookers is a fellow named Dryer; he becomes the patron of both girls, Dora at the brothel and Ruth in the boxing ring. (In the Author's Note of her debut novel, Freeman writes that lady pugilists were just one of many rough entertainments common in the nasty, smelly 1700s, so brilliantly evoked here.) Through Dryer, Ruth will eventually meet the two other main characters of the story, both of whom take turns with her in telling it. One is Charlotte Sinclair, an upper-class young woman who was terribly marked by childhood smallpox; she ends up married to the awful Dryer. The other is George Bowden, a schoolmate of both Dryer and Charlotte's brother Perry; George's good looks far surpass his moral character. Gamblers, drinkers, fighters, hookers; the fancy, the rowdy, the rude-Freeman does a wonderful job of spinning this furious yarn, in which the fury of women plays the lead role. Great characters and wild turns of events make this book a knockout.

January 1, 2015

Born and raised in a brothel in Bristol, the lumpish and unattractive Ruth is considered unsuitable to become a lady of the house, so it is fortunate that her early signs of talent for scrappiness leads to some success as a professional pugilist. In this sweeping 18th-century saga, her story is intertwined with two others: that of George Bowden, the well-born youngest son of a family from whom he will inherit neither title nor fortune and who comes to depend on the largess of his schoolboy friend and lover, Perry Sinclair, and of Perry's sister, Charlotte. Charlotte is a smallpox survivor whose fortunes are considerably diminished by her facial scarring and who is kept firmly under the thumb of her irascible brother until he marries her off to a mean and neglectful husband. These three characters find their lives converging in the boxing arena--Ruth, as a fighter and later as the supportive wife of an aspiring champion; Charlotte, with a developing fascination for the sport, both as a spectator and a would-be participant; and George, as a gambler hoping that a big win will secure his future. VERDICT This debut, a ripping fine yarn, will have particular appeal to fans of recent Austen-era hits such as Jo Baker's Longbourn and P.D. James's Death Comes to Pemberley. Thoroughly entertaining and highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 10/27/14.]--Barbara Love, formerly with Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2015

Born and raised in a brothel in Bristol, the lumpish and unattractive Ruth is considered unsuitable to become a lady of the house, so it is fortunate that her early signs of talent for scrappiness leads to some success as a professional pugilist. In this sweeping 18th-century saga, her story is intertwined with two others: that of George Bowden, the well-born youngest son of a family from whom he will inherit neither title nor fortune and who comes to depend on the largess of his schoolboy friend and lover, Perry Sinclair, and of Perry's sister, Charlotte. Charlotte is a smallpox survivor whose fortunes are considerably diminished by her facial scarring and who is kept firmly under the thumb of her irascible brother until he marries her off to a mean and neglectful husband. These three characters find their lives converging in the boxing arena--Ruth, as a fighter and later as the supportive wife of an aspiring champion; Charlotte, with a developing fascination for the sport, both as a spectator and a would-be participant; and George, as a gambler hoping that a big win will secure his future. VERDICT This debut, a ripping fine yarn, will have particular appeal to fans of recent Austen-era hits such as Jo Baker's Longbourn and P.D. James's Death Comes to Pemberley. Thoroughly entertaining and highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 10/27/14.]--Barbara Love, formerly with Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2014

Having had great advance notice, including rave reviews upon its publication in the UK, this debut novel lands with a punch--quite literally, since its subject is female pugilism in late 18th-century England. Brothel-born Ruth won't triumph in the demimonde, lacking the beauty of her sister, Dora, but at a tender age she meets pugilist patron George Dryer and becomes a huge success as a bare-knuckle fighter in the prize rings of Bristol.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.