Add free shipping to your order with these great books
Gypsy Jem Mace : First Heavyweight Champion of the World - Jeremy Poolman

Gypsy Jem Mace

First Heavyweight Champion of the World

By: Jeremy Poolman

Paperback | 1 November 2016 | Edition Number 1

Sorry, we are not able to source the book you are looking for right now.

We did a search for other books with a similar title, however there were no matches. You can try selecting from a similar category, click on the author's name, or use the search box above to find your book.

A few miles from New Orleans, at LaSalle's Landing – in what is now the city of Kenner – stands a life-size bronze statue of two men in combat. One of them is the legendary Gypsy Jem Mace, the first Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World and the last of the great bare-knuckle fighters. This is the story of Jem Mace's life. Born in Norfolk in 1931, between his first recorded fight, in October 1855, and his last – at the age of nearly 60 – he became the greatest fighter the world has ever known. But “Gypsy” Jem Mace was far more than a champion boxer: he played the fiddle in street processions in war-wrecked New Orleans; was friends with Wyatt Earp — survivor of the gunfight at the OK Corral (who refereed one of his fights), the author Charles Dickens; controversial actress Adah Mencken (he and Dickens were rivals for her affection); and the great and the good of New York and London high society; he fathered numerous children (the author is his greatgreat-grandson), and had countless lovers, resulting in many marriages and divorces.

Gypsy Jem Mace is not simply a book about boxing, but more a narrative quest to uncover the life of a famous but forgotten ancestor, who died in poverty in 1910. This is a story that deserves to be told, one that will resonate with anyone, young or old, man or woman, who has ever sought to do something special before the light of life starts to dim.

About the Author

Acclaimed author Jeremy Poolman is Gypsy Jem Mace's great-great-grandson. His first four books were novels - Interesting Facts About the State of Arizona, winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best First Book; Audacity's Song; My Kind of America; and Skin - since when he has written a trio of non-fiction books, including Gypsy Jem Mace, A Wounded Thing Must Hide: In Search of Libbie Custer and The Road of Bones: A Journey to the Dark Heart of Russia. When he is not travelling, he now lives in Cornwall, where he is Artist In Residence at Pensans Primary School.
Industry Reviews
"A laid-back and beguiling writer." - The Sunday Times "Poolman is a writer of considerable dexterity and razor-sharp insight" - Washington Post

More in Sports & Recreation

Ultimate Motorcycle Tours : Ultimate - Grant Roff

RRP $45.00

$37.25

17%
OFF
A Father's Son : Family, football and forgiveness - Mat Rogers

FREE SHIPPING

RRP $49.99

$39.95

20%
OFF
The Story Continues : Dustin Martin - Dustin Martin

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
Best Day Walks Japan : Lonely Planet Travel Guide : 1st Edition - Lonely Planet Travel Guide
Swainston's Fishes of Australia : The complete illustrated guide - Roger Swainston
Knockout : Great Australian Boxing Stories - Grantlee Kieza
Our Fight : The new inspirational memoir from the UFC and WWE icon - Ronda Rousey
Surviving to Drive : A Year Inside Formula 1 - Guenther Steiner
Biking For Dummies : For Dummies (Health & Fitness) - Tyler Benedict
The Wall : Smash Through and Become the True You - Ant Middleton

RRP $34.99

$28.50

19%
OFF
Ultimate 4WD Tracks: Australia : Ultimate - Anthony Ham

RRP $45.00

$37.25

17%
OFF