An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List
593. The Fight of the Century
August 20, 2025
Description
Why did two men - John Heenan and and Tom Sayers - illegally meet in a field in Hampshire, in 1860, to brutally fight one another, captivating Britain in the process? What can the fight tell us...
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Books Referenced
This Sporting Life: Sport and Liberty in England, 1760 to 1960
Author: Robert Colls
Context:
The guest Professor Robert Colls is the author of this book, which contains a whole chapter on the Sayers-Heenan fight. The hosts recommend it highly as 'a wonderful, wonderful read.'
Tom Brown's School Days
Author: Thomas Hughes
Context:
Referenced in discussion of schoolboy fighting, with Tom Holland mentioning the fight scene with 'Slugger Williams.' Rob Colls notes that Thomas Hughes 'knew exactly what he was writing about when he did that.'