Featherweight

by Mick Kitson

Overview

One wrong move, one misstep, and the course of a life can be changed for ever.

Annie Perry is born beside the coal-muddied canals of the Black Country at the height of the industrial revolution. At nine years old she is sold for six guineas to the famous and feared bare-knuckle boxer Bill Perry, the Tipton Slasher. From that moment on, Annie will fight - for Bill and for her future.

A whole new world opens up to Annie, one of love, fortune and family, but also of great danger.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781838851958
Publisher:	Canongate Books
Publication date:	04/05/2022
Edition description:	Main
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Mick Kitson was born in South Wales, and studied English at university before launching the prolific 80s pop band, The Senators, with his brother Jim. He worked as a journalist for several years, then went on to become an English teacher. His debut novel, Sal, was the winner of the Saltire First Book Award. Mick lives in Fife, Scotland.

Editorial Reviews

Just wonderful. A breath of fresh air in a book. Sal is a story with incredible heart, told so beautifully and with such clarity and grace I can hardly believe it's a debut! I loved it

JOANNA CANNON

A punchy historical yarn . . . [Kitson] has a fine time with Annie and the Slasher - warm, memorable creations who come punching off the page . . . Featherweight transports the reader to the tough, rapidly industrialising world of the 19th-century Black Country, with its old canals and new railways, the soot of the forges and strikes at the nail factories, via lushly detailed, rhythmical descriptions . . . A gleeful, page-flipping read . . . A rollicking tale, one you'll be glad to take a ringside seat for

Observer

A wonderful novel . . . The themes of Kitson's plot also revolve around themes of rejection, lost hope, vulnerability. But in Annie it also shows us a strong woman, way ahead of her time who decides she can also turn her hand (or fists) to pugilism

NB Magazine

A rollicking historical novel set in the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution . . . Offers plenty to enjoy

Daily Mail

Sal is an inspiring novel that feels honest and fastidious. It introduces the theme of redemption and fresh beginnings without shying from the awful truth

Financial Times

Kitson creates a Dickensian flavour through Black Country dialogue, a strong sense of place (a smut-blackened industrial town), and colourful characterisation. Detailed descriptions of what goes on in the ring add suspense . . . Readers will love rooting for this great little fighter who easily punches above her weight . . . Compelling

Booklist

Praise for Sal: Kitson writes clearly and concisely . . . Sal is an ambitious and skilled novel. Literature needs more stories like this

Guardian - JENNI FAGAN

A no-holds-barred portrait of an English town despoiled by the Industrial Revolution

New York Times

Annie is a lively, appealing character and there is plenty more to enjoy in Kitson's narrative

Best New Historical Fiction Sunday Times

Praise for Sal: Atmospheric . . . Distinctive . . . A vivid, moving tale about the strength of sisterhood and the struggle to survive

Observer - ANITA SETHI

Incredibly engaging . . . Mick Kitson's depiction of the siblings' relationship is spot on, as is his description of the beauties of the natural world as seen through Sal's eyes . . . [A] gutsy debut

Sunday Express

Gripping and hopeful

Book Club Pick ELLE

Endearing

Metro M D

Kitson inhabits the girls' voices with credible authenticity . . . This short, impressive debut is an uplifting tale of survival, shot through with humour, compassion and humanity

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