Synopses & Reviews
Bringing historical fact spiritedly to life, Fraser tells the rollicking tale of how "the Black Ajax" became as famous a figure in England as Napoleonand just as much a threat to its establishmentbefore he passed into boxing legend and created a precedent for modern black prizefighters.
Review
The author of the popular Flashman Papers series, Fraser has established a reputation as a master of historical fiction. His latest effort, based in fact, chronicles the brief career of a black American boxer in Regency England. Tom Molineaux was a freed slave who challenged England's champion, Tom Cribb, twice. Molineaux finds a patron in Captain Buckley "Mad Buck" Flashman (father of the Flashman of Fraser's novels), and he quickly begins to attract attention, gaining notice even from the Prince Regent. Fraser tells the boxer's sad tale through the reports of various witnesses whose lives intersected with that of Molineaux, revealing the attitudes and prejudices of a raucous society not quite ready to have a black man become champion of England. Fans of historical fiction will revel in Fraser's effortless re-creation of the Regency period, and for those unfamiliar with Regency cant, there is a glossary to explain what phrases like "dicked in the nob" and "pattering the flash" mean. Library Journal
Review
...Has there ever been a more vivid picture of the thrills and horrors of the early bare-knuckle boxing days, when the sport was at once illegal and a national obsession? For anyone interested in the period, in the place of a black man in a highly stratified society and in a compelling story of courage and ultimate sorrow, this is the book. Publisher's Weekly
Review
A rip-roaring fictional retelling of the story of black bare-knuckle prizefighter Tom Molineaux, an American freed slave who challenged England's beloved heavyweight champion Tom Cribb in the early years of the 19th century....Fraser builds a stunning picture of his eponymous hero as a magnificent athlete destroyed by the temptations of fame, battling gamely even when "woozy wi' daffy and collywobbles and half the strength drained out o' him by a night's fornicating"; and, even more impressively, of a Regency England characterized by "churches half-empty and hells packed full, fashion and frolic the occupations, and sport the religion." It all races by so quickly that there's scarcely time to savor the glorious period argot (much of it explained in a hilarious and helpful Glossary). You'd have to be dicked in the nob to dislike this book. It's bloody marvelous. Kirkus Reviews