the crimson petal and the white goodreads

Perhaps the tag of selling this book as The Fight Club meets The Crimson Petal and the White’ is just that- a clever marketing ploy- to draw the eye and readers in on an exciting, niche topic. However, the various characters, their backgrounds and their trajectories that follow are multifarious and go beyond the reaches of fighting- there are multiple elements involving love, motherhood, addiction, loyalty and sexuality- at turns devastating, inspiring and surprising. The sport is also our major introduction to soon-to-be pugilist Ruth, her thirst and passion for bloodsport and the ring. To me, pugilism is but one facet- to be sure it is a major one and the one that connects elements and characters together. You know when you’re so ensconced in a novel that when you wake to your real world you feel slightly discombobulated? So torn out of a time and place that you don’t feel quite there? That’s how I felt whenever I came up from air while reading The Fair Fight.ĭo you need to be interested in or have knowledge of pugilism and its history to read this novel? No, and in fact, I actually don’t think that the book description (while detailed and accurate) does the novel justice. When Charlotte presents Ruth with an extraordinary proposition, Ruth pushes dainty Charlotte to enter the ring herself and learn the power of her own strength.Ī gripping, page-turning story about people struggling to transcend the circumstances into which they were born and fighting for their own places in society, The Fair Fight is a raucous, intoxicating tale of courage, reinvention, and fighting one’s way to the top. After a disastrous, life-changing fight sidelines Ruth, the two women meet, and it alters the perspectives of both of them. Scarred by smallpox, stifled by her social and romantic options, and trapped in twisted power games with her wastrel brother, she is desperate for an escape.

Manor-born Charlotte has a different cross to bear. That is until she meets pugilist patron George Dryer and discovers her true calling-fighting bare knuckles in the prize rings of Bristol. While her sister’s beauty affords a certain degree of comfort, Ruth’s harsh looks set her on a path of drudgery. Moving from a filthy brothel to a fine manor house, from the world of street fighters to the world of champions, The Fair Fight is a vivid, propulsive historical novel announcing the arrival of a dynamic new talent.īorn in a brothel, Ruth doesn’t expect much for herself beyond abuse. Source: ARC courtesy of Goodreads First Reads and Penguin Canada. Review: The Fair Fight: A Novel by Anna Freeman

The crimson petal and the white goodreads