The Great Prize Fight

by Alan Lloyd

Describing the most outrageous boxing match in history, this account provides the exciting details of the Englishman Tom Sayers and American John Heenan's legendary 1860 fight. "The Great Fight" was the sensation of its time, involving sportsmen, thieves, and citizens all thrilled by the bare-knuckled punches. Exploring both men's lives and the colorful world around them, from scratch to finish, from the Victorian sporting life to the sleazy world of gamblers and politicians, this enthralling story gives all the dramatic details of a seminal moment in boxing history.

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2005

About the author

Alan Richard Lloyd is an English writer born in 1927. He is most famous for his Kine Saga fantasy books for teenagers. He has also written adult fiction and non-fiction, most notably on the history of the British monarchy. His adult work is published under the name Alan Lloyd whilst children's work is published under A.R. Lloyd.

Lloyd was born in London, and studied drawing and painting at the Kingston School of Art before being called up to the army in 1945. He started his writing career at the Jersey Evening Post and worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a full time writer in 1962. His first book, published by Longmans in 1964 was The Drums of Kumasi a non fiction account of the Ashanti Wars. This was followed in 1966 by The Year of the Conqueror (published as The Making of the King 1066 in the USA), a study of the events and people leading up to the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Further non-fiction work followed on the history of Spain, George III, King John and the Zulu War. His first fiction work, The Eighteenth Concubine was published in 1972, and Kine, the first of his Kine Saga novels was published in 1982.

Reviews

[Tony Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging. Would make a great tv series.

[A D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating tale of the first transatlantic bare knuckle boxing match.