Flyweight

Inspired by Annie Newton, London’s first female boxer, and perfect for fans of Elise Hopper’s Fast Girls and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Carrie Soto is Back, Flyweight is a story of the strength, defiance, and resilience of women in an ever-changing post-war England.East London, 1921: As men return from war, Lucy Cotter loses her job and, with it, her hope of raising her family out of poverty. Her husband, Robin, a former champion boxer and WWI veteran, is still learning to live with injuries sustained in battle and cannot yet hold a job. In an uncertain economy, work is scarce and Lucy is desperate—until she visits Robin’s former boxing gym and meets the new owner, Siobhan McCarthy.Siobhan, the niece of Robin’s late coach, is a boxer herself and keen to start training women. Lucy is skeptical—women don’t box, especially not women from her background—but, facing eviction, she can’t refuse when Siobhan offers her a job. Siobhan even convinces Lucy to spar with her in a public match, but in a city that sees women in the ring as vulgar and disgraceful, it wont be easy.As protesters rage, and the mayor himself threatens to shut them down, the match becomes less about the job to Lucy, and more about the fight for equality. In the end, Lucy must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the cause, if it means risking her family’s future.