Customer Reviews

Black Ajax

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I read Black Ajax in one sitting and cannot get it out of my mind. This is one of the most poignant, dazzling novels I have ever read. Far from being presented as a stereotype, Tom Molineaux comes across as a multi-dimentional, deeply moving individual. Such is the author's skill that the character of 'Black Ajax' is built up slowly and subtly, from a variety of points of view. The racial epithets, far from drawing attention to the 'shortcomings' of the book (there are none), serve to highlight exactly what Tom Molineaux was up against. His situation is treated realistically and with compassion.

The characterization and structure overall are outstanding. Each character's voice is unique. The book's greatest strength lies in its utter lack of sentimentality. Fraser is clearly a writer of supernatural gifts.

Tom Molineaux, ex slave and brawler turned bare knuckle prize fighter, lover and dandy living life to great excess in pre Victorian English high society. This is a true story told from the view point of various people who come into contact with Molineaux on his journey up and down the social ladder. These characters, ranging from a female conquest's butler to the Prince Regent are wonderfully constructed and brought to life by Fraser's gift for the language of the time as already seen in the Flashman Papers. Molineaux is a horribly misunderstood and manipulated character and the story of his rise and fall is both touching and poignant whilst remaining humourous, gripping and brutal. Each person and scene is beautifully constructed, Fraser's passion for the era is obvious. The prologue alone telling the story of a broken down pug on his last legs brings tears to the eye and is worth the price of the book alone.

From one of my most favorite authors of historical fiction comes this tale of a freed slave coming to England circa 1810 to try and break into the prizefighting game. Apparently prizefighting was the sport back then, enjoyed by all levels of society. Fraser tells the story of the rise and fall of this one-time legend in a series of mock interviews with those surrounding him: his childhood love, his manager, his trainer, his patron, several foes, and misc. others. Just as interesting as the fighter's story is the variety in language and perspective given in each interview. The interviews are loaded with slang from the era, which is only partially decoded in the glossary, so it may make for heavy reading for some. The patron of the prizefighter is Harry Flashman's father, in a tie-in to Fraser's excellent long-running Flashman series.

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.

From the real-life story of the meteoric rise, and subsequent fall of Tom Molineaux, freed slave who comes to England with one purpose alone--to defeat the reigning champ, Tom Cribb. Seen through the eyes of various people who saw him (including, notably, Harry Flashman's father) (Flashman himself gets a brief mention) and who are telling their experiences to an unknown person, presumably an author or writer.

Since Tom's fate is revealed in the prologue, watching Tom's arc, which will bring him achingly close to the top only to fall, is painful. But what makes this book is watching the attitude of those arond him, and the Napoleonic-era society which is delighted to embrace him as a novelty--and to turn against him the instant he becomes a threat or a failure. For all the wine, women and song he is given, the turning point in this book is when the misunderstood Tom realizes he will never be accepted, as a non-white, non-English contender, society and the mob will turn against him the instant he is seen as likely to become the champion.

Fraser, as he showed for the later 19th century in the Flashman books, and as he did for the Edwardian era in Mr. American, shows an intimate knowledge and understanding of Regency England, which is brought to life for our enjoyment.

One of the delightful things about the work of George MacDonald Fraser is the wide range of subjects he addresses which are knit together by one singular talent - his ability to breath life into another era.

Those who have only read The Flashman Papers (not a bad thing by any means) have only seen one facet of Mr. Fraser's talent. When he applied it in "The Steel Bonnets", one of the most confusing, convoluted and bloody periods in English history leapt into focus. Now in addressing the doomed career of Tom Molineaux, a former slave who freed himself by beating another slave to death, Fraser sheds some much needed light on that contradictory period which was Regency England.

Using Molineaux's brief career as the subject of an "industrious inquirer", Fraser brings in the views of such diverse observers as an eccentric upper class "pedestrian" who - between walks to Scotland and back - trains Tom Cribb for the second bout, a boxing journalist of the period whose florid hyperbole disguises the fact that he is rarely able to actually attend the matches and, of course, Flash Harry's "guv'ner", Buckley "Mad Buck" Flashman.

"Black Ajax" reveals more about the attitudes, prejudices and life styles of the Regency than it really does about poor Tom Molineaux. For those looking for a politically correct read, look elsewhere for, as Fraser is fond of saying, history cannot be bent to suit today's attitudes and still remain history. For those who revel in Fraser's adept use of dialect and period slang and his ability to bring an entire era to life, this is for you.

Three of Mr. Fraser's most recent works have all dealt seriously with the same theme -- that of racism. Flashman and the Angel of the Lord explored John Brown and the issue of slavery. Quartered Safe Out Here dealt frankly with the racism that Allied soldiers lived with as they battle the Japanese in WWII. Now Mr. Fraser tackles the subtle racist and classist attitudes of Regency England with his most practiced touch. Mr. Fraser writes historical novels and in Black Ajax he creates the most complete picture of a historical period yet. He does so be depicting the action through the eyes of many different characters as they witness or react to the events of Tom Molineaux, a black american pugilist determined to knock the British boxing establishment to the canvas. All his characters are rich, most are extremely funny. Not the least of which is Sir Harry Flashman's decadent dad, proving that vice (if not bravery) run in the family. This may very well be Mr. Fraser's best book...it is certainly his most mature. While he has always used his characters' words to prove an antithetical point (i.e. what they say is the opposite of what good people should do) in no other work is his sarcasm so polished, his condemnation of hypocrisy so ascerbic. I loved it.

Fraser works his charcters and plots with taste and ease. They are real people and real places. Makes you want to read more and find out what happened next. A real grabber.

"Black Ajax" is a fascinating fictionalized history/social commentary/boxing story about the American ex-slave Tom Molineaux who fought the Englishman Tom Cribb for the Championship of the world back in 1810 and 1811. The story is presented in monologues as told by the principal participants to an unnamed fictional biographer/reporter some time after Molineaux's death. Of course, the dialogue and some of the characters are invented (most notably Buck Flashman, the rakish father of MacDonald Fraser's most famous creation), but I was surprised to learn after reading this book that its main incidents and characters were real. George MacDonald Fraser is simply a master storyteller with a jeweler's eye for historical detail who has written yet another masterpiece. In this retelling of the story of Tom Molineaux, it's striking how boxing's seamy template of racial animosities, financial exploitation and pathetic physical ruin isn't just a 20th century story but goes back as far as Regency England, and probably back to the Coliseum. This is a great book. It's too bad the old fellow can't go on writing forever.

This book is very good as a stand alone - but if you expect the usual Flashy antics, they are not there. Nevertheless as a canvas of 19th century English boxing, this is first rate.

Tom Bertenshaw