Product Description

In the spirit of Flashman and in the inimitable George MacDonald Fraser style comes a rousing story of prize fighting in the 19th century. Reissued in a stunning new package, Black Ajax will attract a new generation of fans. When Captain Buck Flashman sees the black boxer catch a fly in mid-flight he realizes that he is in the presence of speed such as the prize ring has never seen. Tom Molineaux may be crude and untutored, but if 'Mad Buck' knows anything (and like his notorious son, the archcad Harry Flashman, he has an unerring eye for the main chance), this ex-slave from America is a Champion in the making, on whose broad shoulders the ambitious Captain can climb to sporting and social fame. Under his patronage, the 'Black Ajax' is carried on a popular tide of sporting fever to his great dream: to fight the invincible, undefeated Champion of England, the great Tom Cribb. The story of Molineaux and his eventual battles with Cribb is told through a series of superbly original and individual voices -- colourful, powerful and funny. Together they create a magnificent picture of Regency England and a portrait of a flawed hero who surmounted the barriers of ignorance, poverty and race hatred to bring the prize ring a lustre it had never known before, and may never again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29750 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Black Ajax, George MacDonald Fraser tells the story of a black man from the United States who nearly became England's champion boxer during the early 19th century. This historical novel is based on the true story of Tom Molineaux, a former slave who won his freedom in a boxing match, then travelled to England, refined his skills, and almost became the first black champ. The story is told by over a dozen witnesses to Molineaux's bouts with the reigning champion, Tom Cribb. Molineaux's trainer recalls the fighter's awe-inspiring strength and speed. A butler who asks to remain anonymous divulges information about the fighter's love affair with an English noblewoman. Molineaux's manager, a former slave and retired boxer, speaks bitterly of his disappointment in the youth for failing to prove to the English that a black man could be as capable a fighter as any white man. Nearly all the witnesses to the first match between the two fighters thought Molineaux lost mainly because the judges gave the white opponent an unfair advantage.

All the characters in this novel speak in 19th-century dialect, and it's diverting to try to decipher their many odd turns of phrase. For those who cannot determine the meanings of words such as "Spike Hotel", "toco", "winker", and "wistycastor" from context, the author provides a glossary at the end of the book. Unfortunately, almost all of the characters seem overly fond of using racial epithets, which draws attention to the shortcomings of this book. The main one is that Tom Molineaux, who undoubtedly was a complex, fascinating character, comes across as a stereotype here: a hulk with not many brains but a lot of sex drive. Although Fraser fails in that respect, this novel does vividly chronicle an intriguing episode in the history of sport and race relations. --Jill Marquis

Review
'Mr Fraser is a great historical novelist and in Black Ajax he is at the very top of his form. Damme if he ain't.' Christopher Matthew, Daily Mail 'This is not a flashy novel, wearing its learning noisily. It's rigorous, intelligent, meticulously horrifying. Wonderfully well done.' Nicci Gerrard, Observer

About the Author
The author of the famous 'Flashman Papers' and the 'Private McAuslan' stories, George MacDonald Fraser has worked on newspapers in Britain and Canada. In addition to his novels he has also written numeous films, most notably 'The Three Musketeers', 'The Four Musketeers', and the James Bond film, 'Octopussy'. George Macdonald Fraser died in January 2008 at the age of 82.

Customer Reviews

Excellent stuff from the creator of Flashman
I had thought that George MacDonald Fraser was going stale and that the last books in the Flashman series had been dull and one-dimensional. What he obviously needed was a change of character to set the creative juices flowing again, because this was a true return to form. Since reading the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell I've found the Regency a fascinating time, but this novel brings them to life far more effectively that Mr Cornwell's formulaic pot-boilers. The characters are fantastic: Pad Jones, Bill Richmond, Tom Cribb and Tom Molineux himself, not forgetting, of course, the dastardly Buck Flashman.

What makes the novel more poignant is that these, with the exception of Mr Flashman, were all real people. Tom's descent to ruin is beautifully told, and the author's grip on the Regency argot is wonderful. Why can't all books be more like this?

Outstanding read
I wasn't sure about this book. I normally hate books where the story is told from different characters' points of view the author really manages to drive the story along with pace and the change of narrator actually adds to the story.

The editoral review above mentions that the characters are use racist language too much! This seems a ludicrous criticism bearing in mind how people would have actually spoken in Victorian times. The lack of censorship in word and thought is one of the things that make this book really interesting.

It's a touching story about race and fame and 100% recommended for those who'd not normally buy books about those subjects.

A recreation, not of the past, but of another present.
In this marvellously original novel Mr. MacDonald Fraser fully deploys his ability to create the very feel of another age in the way he has done humorously in the Flashman novels and seriously in "Mr.American". This book immerses us in the prizefighting world of Regency England but the author does not write of the past, but rather of another present, different to our own, and he makes it live not only though its own speech patterns and slang, but by conveying the values, expectations and cultural norms of the time, as expressed in daily life. There is no overt judgement here of the rights and wrongs of that society, with its acceptance of exploitation, economic, social, sexual and racial, on a scale inconceivable in modern Western Society, and this makes the implicit condemnation all the stronger. This is not a polemic however and one is reminded throughout how basic qualities of human decency, courage and compassion - no less than of greed and cruelty - are unchanging with time. The story - a true one - is complex, exciting and thought-provoking. The technique employed, a series of narratives from different viewpoints and from different observers or participants, none the main character, is an inherently difficult one to pull off successfully, but Mr. MacDonald Fraser manages it brilliantly. Each narrator has his or her own uniquely personal style and many are not reporting - but rather justifying themselves or establishing a personal stake on the basis of recollections that may or may not be totally accurate. The range of characterisation through reminiscence is stunning - from the proudly-conscious sadism of a Louisiana plantation owner, to the cynicism of a wealthy Havana brothel-keeper whom we have first encountered as an innocent and terrified slave girl, to the absolute amorality of the alcohol-sodden Flashman Senior (father of the immortal Harry) to the rough decency of English prize-fighters. The use of period style and slang is masterful. The author has obviously immersed himself in the writings of Pierce Egan (who features in the cast) and many of the pages of "Black Ajax" might indeed go undetected as being of later date if inserted among the chronicles of the original Tom and Jerry, while I am still uncertain whether the contribution of William Hazlitt (who also appears) is an extract from his actual writings or a recreation by Mr.MacDonald Fraser. In summary - a splendid novel. One thirsts for more in similar vein.