Review for The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman.

I finished The Fair Fight in two days flat and was quite breathless by the end of it! It’s a proper historical romp and I loved it.
Ruth and her sister are born in a brothel run by their mother. Dora Ruth’s sister is soon working in the family business but Ruth’s talents lie in a different direction; that of bare knuckle boxing. Together with her common law husband Tom they fight, in every sense of the word, to survive in a harsh 18th century environment.
The novel is narrated by three different characters, Ruth, Charlotte and the wonderfully repellent George and I think this was one of the strengths of the novel. Yes there is some repetition of events but the reader experiences the same scenes from multiple viewpoints with some amusing results. Charlotte’s character especially needed a revaluation for me when we started to hear her own voice. It is Ruth’s voice that really brings the novel to life however. She is no nonsense, tough but with a soft side and her language reflects this. Words like ‘fib’ and ‘cully’ proliferate but once as a reader you understand the context of the unusual words they inject life and colour into the story that brings it life.
This is not just a good story it’s a pleasure to read and I even feel like a learnt something as well. Can’t recommend it highly enough