Featherweight

by Mick Kitson

Annie Perry is born beside the coal-muddied canals of the Black Country, at the height of the industrial revolution. The youngest in a large Romani family who cannot afford to keep her, when she is eight years old Annie is sold as a servant to the famous and feared bare-knuckle boxer Bill Perry, The Tipton Slasher.

Bill is starting to lose his strength, but refuses to give up his crown. When it looks like a fight might become Bill's last, Annie steps into the ring, fists raised in his defence. From that moment she is determined to train and follow in Bill's footsteps, to learn to fight for herself. But Annie has been doing this all along.

A whole new world opens up for Annie, one of love, fortune, family and education, but also of danger. One wrong move, one misstep, and the course of her life will be changed forever.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Audiobook, British Literature, 19th Century

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2021

About the author

Mick Kitson was born in South Wales and grew up in London. He studied English at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne before a brief spell as one half of 80s pop duo The Senators. He went on to work as a newspaper reporter before switching career again at the age of 40 to become an English Teacher.

He lives in Fife, Scotland with his wife Jill and bad tempered dog Lucy. He has three grown up children: Molly, Susie and Jimmy and spends more time than is good for a person fly fishing for sea trout, reading, playing the banjo and growing
Strawberries. He also builds boats.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every so often a book comes along and takes you away on an adventure. And I mean it doesn’t just tell you it’s going to do it or tell you all about it, it transports you. This is exactly what Mick Kitson accomplished with Featherweight, a novel that, despite its title, possesses a considerable gravity. Not to mention charm. Excitement. Pure joy of readership. Things like that.
And granted, I expected good things of Kitson. Sal, his previous novel, was an excellent tale of wilderness survival featuring a remarkably credible child protagonist. But it was a fairly straight forward and simple story comparing to this one. This is a grand adventure of a much larger scale. It, once again, features an excellent female protagonist, though this time she is slightly older.
Without further ado, meet Annie. Sold at just nine years of age by her destitute family to an aging out bareknuckle boxer named Bill Perry (a terrifically generous spirit who adores both The Queen and booze in seemingly equal measures), Annie’s got her life all figured out, between learning to fight and helping her adoptive father operate his pub, she’s tough enough and smart enough to take on all sorts of challenges. But then one day she steps into the ring to box a handsome young man who on principle won’t hit back and just like that new possibilities present themselves. Romantic ones, financial ones. There might be a promising future somewhere in there but there are just way too many obstacles to contend with, from a local highway bandit to Bill’s profligate ways to new laws and old ways and fiendish fops with too much money and so on.
One just has to put their fists up and not back down. If Stallone was a young woman (ok, that’s admittedly really difficult to imagine) and grey sweats were jerkins and 1970s city of brotherly something was Victorian England…all you’d need is a rousing theme song and you’d be in business.
Similar souls, maybe but this is much more elaborate of a story. And excellent in every way. It works superbly on a historical fiction level, doing a splendid job of bringing the time and place to life, it gets the boxing right, viscerally audibly punchingly so. But most of all, it wins you over with its terrific cast of characters. You gotta love these characters and their relationships, especially the surprisingly warm and loving father/daughter one between Annie and Bill. And yes, there’s romance too, a love at first punch, if you will, between Annie and a young man too good looking to box and too smart to let a good thing get away.
All in all, excellent. A grand gutsy spirited adventure. A sprawling brawling bodacious tale. A pugilistic picaresque to be passionate about. Loved it. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie Loveridge is the eldest daughter of a Romani family in the heart of the black country. Living in a wagon begging for food and asking old jobs to earn their way. When her father dies at the age of nine Annie is sold off to boxer William Perry, The Tipton Slasher. He treats her like her own daughter and build a strong bond between one another.
As she grows up Annie manages the ale house William has brought in his retirement. As William likes his drink so someone must keep him in line. She even learns to box herself with the help of Janey and she also learns to read poems from Mr Wordsworth and Robbie Burns.
This is a great historical novel with an eclectic group of characters told in Annie’s POV of her fight to better herself with the cards that she has been dealt with. I did enjoy this rag to riches story, although at first I thought it was rather slow but picked up in the second half. 4 stars from me.

[Cathy McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a surprisingly lovely book. The characters were interesting, believable and likeable. They really had you rooting for them and their ending. The story was strong and the setting interesting, no negatives at all. Possibly, no probably my favourite book this year.

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books)]

Sadly, I DNF this book at 21%. I hate it when I do, especially when it’s an ARC but I decided a couple of weeks ago that I want to enjoy reading and don’t want to struggle to finish a book.

The DNF is definitely on me. I shouldn’t have requested this book. I was too eager when I requested it, I think, and am regretting it now. I have been pushing it backwards on my TBR for a while now and that’s not the best way to start reading a book. And when I finally started reading I found it too slow.

So, please check out other reviews if you want to read this one!

I received an ARC from Canongate Books US and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah Faichney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mick Kitson is a consummate storyteller. I loved "Sal" too, albeit it's a very different book. I was completely immersed in "Featherweight" from the outset. I loved the dialect and the olde worlde feel of it. Kitson describes his setting with great skill. The foundries are so vivid you can hear the clangs of the hammers and feel the white heat and steam. His characters are well-drawn, from feisty Annie to big, gentle giant and fighting machine, Bill. Themes include poverty, alcoholism, suffrage and the attitudes towards education for girls in the 1800s. I thoroughly enjoyed "Featherweight" and look forward to whatever Mick Kitson does next. 

[Tanya Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torn between 4 and 5 for this one. I wasn't sure at first if I would like it, but it just got better and better. A compelling depiction of life in early twentieth century England. Such beautifully developed and endearing characters as well. Tip: I got to the very short epilogue and was left feeling like some pages were missing from the story! Until I went back to the beginning to verify the era for this review. Turns out the Prologue and Epilogue bookend the story in a really powerful way, which I would have missed had I not re-read the prologue.

[Donna Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Tipton wench I loved this story based on the bare knuckle boxer ,Bill Perry ,the Tipton slasher. Lovingly recreates the Black Country of the 19th century .A cracking read.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitson's tale is a cracking read. Set in the heart of the 'Black Country' at the time of the industrial revolution the story is built around Annie a Gypsy girl given up by her desperate widowed mother for six guineas to Bill Perry the 'Tipton Slasher' and Heavyweight Champion of England. Kitson describes the bleak landscape, polluted by industrial process, and the common people drawn in to work in this hell. Away from the stench the not so great and good live virtuous (the minority) or hedonistic lifes. Annie, becomes literate but it is her fists that help her escape to a better life in the new world. This is more than a novel, it is social commentary at its best.

[Evelynkeirstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. I really enjoy historical novels, especially those based on fact. It was interesting to read about the art of boxing in England during the mid to late 1800s and to read about the lives of gypsies living in Britain during that period. The book just got more and more engrossing; the ending was great!!!

[Aisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very heartwarming book with endearing characters. You do not find many books that describe the life of a street fighter, especially that of a female boxer. Set in the 1800s this tale is one of fights, love as well as loss. Makes for an enjoyable read.

The author's note is especially sweet and gives a whole new perspective on how this yarn was spun.

[Ruth Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another favourite from this author

[Heather Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good read for me. I loved it. Based in the Black Country, where I was born and bred so I may be a bit biased. Give it a try I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

[Sarah Partridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just too much detailed description about irrelevant things. Found myself disengaging. And what was with the random prologue and epilogue? Could go so far as to say, not enough description!

[Freedom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful book, I laughed, cried got angry and felt nostalgia all at once. Can't wait to reread to gain even more insight. Loved this

[Annette Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, light ripping yarn set among Romi and canal workers in Victorian England. It's as likable and predictable as the characters in it and romps along easily with no twists or challenges to spoil the fun. An enjoyable, uncomplicated read.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une histoire originale, bien rythmée qui nous fait vivre de belles émotions.
J'ai particulièrement aimé l'écriture fluide et les descriptions détaillées qui m'ont fait voyager dans l'Angleterre du 19e siècle.

[Annette Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featherweight by Mick Kitson is a fascinating work of historical fiction, loosely inspired by the author's own family history. Initially drawn in by the beautiful cover, the description of the story completely sold me on the book. Although I have read quite a bit of historical fiction, I have never come across a story like this one, There are fist fights and first loves, highway men and depraved Lords , all wrapped up in the wonderfully told story of our narrator, Annie Perry.
As a young child, Annie is sold by her Romani family, who can no longer afford to feed her, and becomes the adoptive daughter of one of the greatest prize fighters of the time, Bill Perry, the Tipton Slasher. When the time comes for him to give up fighting the pair settle down and buy an alehouse. While Annie is happy in her life with Bill, she still faces regular abuse because of her Romani heritage, and when she is brutally attacked one evening she decides that she will have to learn how to defend herself. The fighting skills she learns are put to the test when she is forced into a boxing ring, not only to protect her beloved Bill, but to try to earn some money to save the floundering alehouse , their home. Soon she finds herself part of a touring boxing booth, taking on all comers as the daughter of the Tipton Slasher, and a new way of life is born. However things can never run smoothly for too long and soon Annie finds herself in the most dangerous situation of her life, and it is one where even her fists will not be able to save her.
I was totally fascinated by this book which gave me a glimpse of a facet of history I knew nothing about. The author does not shy away from the brutality of the ring, and though the book is not a gore fest, there are numerous descriptions of brutal injuries which some readers might find upsetting. At first I was not sure about the author's decision to use the first person for all of Annie's chapters , especially in the early part of the book, where it is a child's perspective, but over the course of the book as a whole, as she grew up and got an education, it became less of a distraction. Some people might find the pace a little slow, but I didn't mind it, I was enjoying getting to know the characters so much that it was not an issue. I also appreciated how the author was able to give a real sense of the huge social changes that were happening during the period the book was set in, with increased industrialisation and the resultant social unrest being woven into the narrative effortlessly. Annie is also a fantastic character to hang a story on, she is determined, fiercely independent and determined to succeed on her own merits despite the many setbacks she faces along the way.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie Loveridge is the eldest daughter of the family. Following the death of her husband and with many children to support, her mother has no option but to sell Annie in order to survive. Annie is bought by Bill Perry a bare knuckle fighter and sometime boatman. Bill is a gentle giant who shows Annie love and care, but it is a hard life and Annie learns to fight to help pay the bills.
This story is set in the Midlands in the mid 19th century. The descriptive, historical details create a wonderfully atmospheric environment that bring alive the hardship and poverty of the time.
The narrative alternates between Annie's first person account and a third person narrative and the story itself is bracketed by a prologue and epilogue set in 1906 in America.
I enjoyed this book for the historical detail and the endearing characters. At first I found it rather slow paced but it did pick up after a while. I wasn't sure what the purpose of the prologue or epilogue was, they seemed to be superfluous and the story wouldn't have suffered for them not being there.
Overall it was an entertaining read.
I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest and unedited review.
I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest and unedited review.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featherweight was such a breath of fresh air - such a creative storyline with strong and unique characters! We're introduced to Annie Perry (formerly Loveridge), a spirited girl, who is sold by her mother at the age of nine following the death of her father. She's taken in by Bill Perry, a part time fighter and part time boatman who's much gentler than his occupations would indicate. Despite the difficulties in life, Annie is raised with a great amount of love and care and learns to take up fighting in order to support the both of them.

The writing is well done, with alternating perspectives between Annie and a third person narrator, and it's clear the author has done his research for the time period and setting of the novel. The characters have such depth as well, and seeing Annie's growth in strength over the course of the story is rewarding as well.

[Steph Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featherweight is a great historical fiction story about a girl named Annie who has a very harsh life. She starts out living with her family out of a wagon, traveling around from place to place basically begging for food and jobs. Eventually, she is sold to a boxer named Bill. He takes her in as his own daughter and from there the story really takes off. The characters are very well written, I loved Annie and Bill. The setting was also written perfectly with great descriptions and dialect.. This is an all-around great read. The author really knows how to tell a tale and I look forward to reading more from them.

[Julie Tallent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book somewhat a challenge to read. The story itself is wonderful. The dialect was the challenge until I got used to it. It’s very interesting to learn how people lived in the 1800s, especially the poor, the gypsies and the working class.

[Tasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting historical novel describing life in the working classes against the backdrop of the early Victorian period in the West Midlands as the industrial revolution really takes hold. It vividly shows how there are layers upon layers of society, and how they interact - and how the upper classes see the lower classes as their entertainment.

Blurb:
Annie Perry is born beside the coal-muddied canals of the Black Country at the height of the industrial revolution. When her father dies, her Romi family can no longer afford to keep her, and at nine years old she is sold for six guineas to the famous and feared bare-knuckle boxer Bill Perry, the Tipton Slasher.
Bill is starting to lose his strength but insists he has one last fight in him. In fear for his life, Annie steps into the ring, fists raised in his defence. From that moment on, she will fight - for Bill and for her future.
A whole new world opens up for Annie, one of love, fortune, family and education, but also of danger. One wrong move, one misstep, and the course of her life will be changed forever.


Featherweight is a thoroughly enjoyable novel - good worldbuilding, good characterisation (even if some of them are a bit simplistic, pointing out the differences in the classes and the way the world is changing), and an enjoyable plot. Annie grows on you, and the relationships she develops. I never thought that I'd enjoy a novel about the art of pugilism (Rocky is about my limit on this score), but it is nicely put together. The historical detail is good, and reminds me of studying this period in History back in school (so, so many years ago...). You get an idea of the encroachment of industrialisation as green meadows and right to roam are replaced with enclosures and factory building; how travellers lose their way of living to be put in the workhouse, all in the name of profit. You might wonder how this is different from today... Anyway, it would be interesting to read more of Annie's story after the end of this one!

Thanks to #ABoS A Box of Stories for including this in my last box. Despite my enjoyment of it, I think this is not a keeper - I'm running out of room on my shelves! I'll pass it on to the bookshelves at my work, where it will have a new lease of life.

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fighting is all about watching and reading and knowing where they are gonna go next. It's about seeing where the space is before they fill it: the size of the space tells you how they are gonna fill it up with a shot. It is about hearing their breathing: in when they pull back, out when they let go.


I remember walking around a Barnes and Noble, months ago, and seeing this book in the New Fiction section. I picked it up because of the absolutely gorgeous cover, and the blurb sounded interesting, so I put it on my TBR. There it has sat since it was released last March. No more!

Annie, our protagonist, is a young Romi girl who is sold when she's about 10. Her mother is pregnant, newly widowed, and has several other children to look after. Annie is purchased (adopted, more like it) by a Romi man, Bill Perry, who is a retiring boxer. Bill essentially becomes Annie's father, and as she grows into a young woman, she learns all sorts of things about the world around her — how to run an alehouse, how to box, how to hold her ground, how to read, and how to navigate the world as a young woman pugilist in the mid 1800s.

There are some far-fetched adventures in this, I will admit. Especially in the latter part of the book. But I loved Annie and Jem, Bill and Janey. I found myself fairly invested in the boxing matches, even though I am not a fan of boxing — maybe I just need to time travel to the 1800s and watch bare-knuckle fights?

A fast read for anyone who wants something mostly light though there are a few heavy topics (potential triggers behind the spoiler [some racism again Romi people including use of the slur g*psy, time-appropriate sexism since women didn't yet have the right to vote, violence since they are boxers and there is always alcohol around, brief mention of parent death/child death/institutionalization/suicide
But looking up at the sun glowing through the leaves, and hearing the scutter of sparrow wings, I saw the underside of everything and I knew I was going somewhere that day like them martins knew they was destined for a journey.

[Nathlit · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Et voilà qu'elle lit maintenant
Voici un spectacle rarissime messieurs...
Une gazille gitane en train de lire un livre"

La Gazille Gitane c'est Annie Perry, vendue à Bill Perry, le Slasher par sa mère sur une foire, afin de permettre de faire vivre ses autres frères et soeurs.
Nous sommes au 19e siècle, dans le Black County, l'ère industrielle s'installe en Angleterre.
Bill, raccroche ses gants de boxe pour racheter un Bar à biere, C'est Dans cet univers très masculin, que la jeune Annie, va grandir, et suivre les pas de son paternel d'adoption, un millieu pauvre et violent, ou les coups du sort rythme le quotidien et ou l'alcool est une consolation.
Poids Plume a ce goût du roman "daté", sans nous ennuyer. L'histoire serait totalement sordide, si Mick Kitson ne dotait pas son héroïne d'un facteur chance, une jeune femme avec une force de caractère et attachante. C'est le choix de tout Bon conteur, d'insuffler ce qui va nous captiver. "les ingrédients" sont là un bar à bière à l'atmosphere frondeuse, ou l'on pratique des activités illégales tout en saluant le portrait de la Reine, Une histoire d'amour inévitable, une enfant courageuse qui devient une femme à la fois éduquée et combative.
J'ai apprécié l'histoire, son rythme et ses personnages, un roman très épique, un seul bémol sur le côté trop simpliste des émotions, sans que cela nuise à ma lecture. L'auteur m'a embarqué avec ce souci de nous plonger dans cette Angleterre des Bas fonds, du spectacle de rues lors des combats de boxe, et la fresque sociale, qui rappelle les grands romans de Zola, l'emporte. À lire pour retrouver l'ambiance d'un Bon roman anglais.
#poidsplume #mickkitson #romanhistorique

[Bethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

|:: Anywhere I once belonged was gone now. And I weren't going to curse the Reverend. Though my mammy taught me curses you could put on a body or lame a horse with. Or make milk go sour, or mold come on wheat. They were just like prayers you said in church, little rhymes and skipping words, and sometimes you drew a double star on a rag and wrapped a lock of a woman hair or a bit of a man beard, and then bound it with monkshood stems.
But I didn't hold with that now, though I liked the way a gorger quaked if you muttered at him. I used to do it on Bill all the time ::|

Little Annie Perry is all grown up now, having been sold by her family as a girl due to their dire situation, she gained a new father overnight who worshipped the ground she walked on and looked after her all his life. It was through him she met her husband, her step mum Jeanie, her good friends Esther and Paddy and met her match in the ring Molly.
For with good must come the bad.

Annie is a beautiful character to watch develop and before our very eyes she does. I had never read a book in this tongue before and it was a breath of fresh air, if not unusual to get used to at the beginning. The slasher was a completely interesting character as was the Lord who would be the undoing of everything!

Loved this tale. It is an amazing piece of history to read. True or not.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't want to cross Annie Perry. She's no lightweight. And Featherweight by Mick Kitson is no lightweight either. Annie is a Romi, and when her father dies, her mother, pregnant with six other children she can't feed, sells Annie to Bill Perry, a fearsome boxer known as the Tipton Slasher. Annie becomes his beloved daughter, and when Bill is no longer able to fight, he opens up an alehouse called the Champion of England. After a harrowing incident, Annie learns to protect herself by the only means she knows, her fists. And she is good, able to take on opponents much larger than she is, even men. This is how she meets Jem Mason, a beautiful and powerful boxer, known as the Bilston Bruiser. Together they become a double act, fighting any challenger willing to pay. But Kitson is not only telling a story about a woman bareknuckle fighter. By setting the story in early Victorian times during the early Industrial Revolution, when social stations were static, when propriety ruled the day, he shows how this way of life is not less than. Kitson gives great dignity to Annie and Bill and all the rest without sacrificing character and a good story. He even throws in the escapades of the Black Cloak, a Robin Hood-like figure, that figures into Annie's story. So yeah, don't piss off Annie Perry, the Slasher's Daughter, and it's not just because she could beat you up, it's because she's earned it.

[Sheila Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can understand the attraction of this book for many but had it not been a book club choice I would probably have given up at about 60% through. It was very well written with some excellent descriptive passages reminding me of the earthiness of Zola and, occasionally, of lyrical poetry. The author painted a vivid picture of the lives of the Romany, of workers on the canals in the days of the industrial revoution and of the wealthy upper classes who looked down on them. I should have enjoyed it but the first 2/3rds were very slow moving and the fight episodes became very repetitive. A welcome development of the plot came later when description turned to the excesses of the lives of the gentry and the desperate attempts of the underclass to escape and improve their lot. On reflection, I am glad I finished it and recognise its many qualities; I would recommend it for those with a strong stomach to cope with the many fight accounts and with the patience to wait for the plot to work towards its conclusion.

[Krystelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I find that there are books that just take that little too long to heat up, and this was one of them. I found myself almost entirely disengaged with this book until I got to the part where Tommy showed back up in Annie’s life, which is where it really picked up.

Before that, however, there was a lot of irrelevant description and disconnection from the story itself. I just couldn’t quite place why it felt so off. The descriptions were sometimes lengthy, and I was left feeling like they weren’t quite relevant.

The action really picked up in the second half, and I thought the bacchanalia of the Midsummer celebrations at the end was wonderful. Unfortunately, I can’t say the rest of the book packed as much of a punch (pun intended).

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

While at times a bit of a challenge to read, this is an interesting tale of fictionalized history. It's the mid-19th century when Annie is sold by her mother to the prize fighter Bill Perry. She grows to adulthood and, after running his ale house, becomes a fighter herself. The novel is written largely from Annie's POV but others have a say as well- and all of them use dialect which might necessitate some sounding out until you hit the rhythm of the language. She's an indelible character who has, dare I say it, spunk. This is based on Kitson's own family and his affection for them is clear. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly interesting tale of Romani girl sold to a boxer and the life she leads as a result. The story is poorly paced with a very good introduction, a weirdly long middle that seems endless and no final scene to wrap everything up. I kept waiting for the story to come back to the opening scene and tie things up in a meaningful way but…no such luck. I have no idea why the opening scene happened. It was engaging and remains a mystery. As does the book, I’m sorry to say. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.