Undefeated
Basson has created a fine novel around the shadowy 1720s historical figure Elizabeth Wilkinson-Stokes, set in the rookeries of London. She is a female bare-knuckle prizefighter called the Championess. Early in the story, she witnesses her husband-cum-handler being hanged and is glad to see her abuser go. But now she has no income and a gin habit to support. A sympathetic constable and a disabled boy pickpocket, Halfinch, who idolizes her for her fighting abilities, come into her orbit. The constable steers her (reluctantly) into a job sewing stays in a haberdasher’s shop alongside Alice, whose husband is increasingly violent towards her. At first, Elizabeth cares for no one but herself, but she begins to have sympathy for Alice and Halfinch. Elizabeth’s star begins to rise when James Figg, a noted fight promoter, offers to house and train her for future fights if she will quit drinking. But Elizabeth runs afoul of brothel owner Vincent and crooked magistrate Trelawny, which sets off a chain of events that results in both Alice and Halfinch being accused of murder.
How much is likeability critical to a novel’s main character? Elizabeth is not easy to identify with: she is a drunk, has a lot of hatred, is hair-trigger violent, and is her own worst enemy. But Basson is skilled at gradually pulling Elizabeth out of herself in interacting with the well-rounded secondary characters, making her more relatable as the story advances. Supplemental materials include a period map of London, explanations of what little is known of the real Elizabeth, how criminal justice functioned in the 1720s, and a list of additional historical figures incorporated into the story. The novel will please women’s and sport history fans, especially given a period and topic that haven’t been overused in the genre.
