Rodney Stone is a thrilling gothic mystery and boxing novel in which the narrator Rodney is a
Sussex country boy. He is a sailor's son and desires to go to sea himself. However Rodney is
taken to London by his uncle a highly respected gentleman familiar with the most important
people of Great Britain. The novel intertwines Rodney's coming-of-age story with his friend
Jim's boxing attempts. Jim was brought up by a blacksmith and a famous former boxer whom he
believes to be his uncle. This work talks about the famous bare-knuckle boxers of the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries including Jem Belcher John Jackson Daniel Mendoza
Dutch Sam and others. In addition it contains vignettes of several historical personalities.
