The Fair Fight

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. (Apr.)