I loved reading this book.
Amazon ***** from Fred Archer’s great granddaughter, Diana Reynolds
"There is, to my mind, nothing more satisfying than a good old rip-roaring tale about a hero who triumphs over all adversity. Josephine Carr's wonderfully written book about such a man - whom I had neither heard of nor knew anything about - both entertained and educated me - not just about the Hull born jockey Charlie Wood, but about how the Victorian era heralded great social changes and, as a result, prompted the aristocracy to utilise all their wealth and power to make sure the common man remained at the bottom of the social heap.
Without wishing to spoil what is an incredible story, Wood was a Champion jockey who defied the loss of his reputation and livelihood to forge an incredible comeback... His story is told beautifully by the author, who has that priceless gift of being able to effortlessly paint pictures with words, making this delightful book a gripping read for both the racing enthusiast and anyone who loves a good old fashioned story... Brilliant."
— STEVE BRADLEY, HORSE RACING IN THE MEDIA
MR SPIELBERG READ THEN SHOOT
Reviewed on 3 December 2020
Amazon Verified Purchase
In a fifty odd year interest in horse racing biographies I assumed I knew everything there was to know about the jockeys of the victorian era.
This was a new one on me. The Lordships who ran racing in those days looked down on jockeys and thought them little better than indentured servants.
Accordingly when one supposedly broke their rules the punishment tended to be draconian. Charles Wood,this splendidly written book's subject was found guilty on virtually no evidence of organising a jockeys ring to rig races. He was banned from racing for nine years and races he had won including the sports classics
were expunged from the record books. Each year the fairer owners within the sport appealed to the Jockey Club to let Charles Wood ride again. He was made to serve his full nine year suspension and in 1897 was finally allowed to ride again. Incredibly he resumes at the sports top level and won the English triple crown that year on Galtee More. In the two hundred and seventy years of the sports existence there have been only thirteen triple crown winners,the last one being seventy years ago.
— Bryan C
"The most enjoyable horse racing-themed book I have read this year"
— GRAHAM SHARPE, FOUNDER, WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK THE YEAR
“Charlie’s life has now been charted in a book by Sussex author Josephine Carr and what a riveting read it makes”
— SUSSEX EXPRESS, JANUARY 2020
Amazon *****
The Antidote to Lockdown: I know less than nothing about horses, and this is a book that delves into horses and in particular racing horses. Without giving the game away, dear Charlie ends up in a pitch battle against the Establishment. And loses. Cast out for years, the experience allows him to regroup and return with one last charge down the hill. Does he return victorious? Well...
Superb parallels for any modern-day underdog who feels that their sex, religion or race has become a stumbling block to their personal success. But of course, in his day dear Charlie didn't have laws or social media to help him. I am left with the belief that a conversation with dear Charlie about his life story would have been a well spent use of my time, not because I want to learn about horses but because of his indomitable unbroken spirit.
A thumping good read.
— CAROLINE MITCHELL
AN INTERESTING STORY TOLD SO WELL
This is a true story, which is very moving. It is set at the end of the 19th century, and the author really captures the era and brings it alive, whilst also making it relevant. A horse race is juxtaposed against the real-life story of one of the jockeys and a series of legal actions - cutting back and forth between the two. I found the pacing was spot on, keeping me interested and wanting to keep reading. Gripping in fact! There is a LOT of detail, with quotes from original sources at the time and the intricacies of the legal actions, but I never lost interest and even thought I learned a lot! Highly recommended.
— RICHARD, FIVE STARS AMAZON
It was amazing
Gripping from the very first page, this book takes one into the world of 19th century horse racing, its archaic methods of horse training and the prejudice among the upper classes against the talented rider who dared to win.
— BENA STUTCHBURY FIVE STARS ON GOODREADS
— MIKE TATE, White Rock, British Columbia, Canada. January 2020
This book by Josephine Carr comes out of left field and punches way above its weight. The reason for this is basically because it is well written by someone who obviously knows the highroads and byroads of the strange at times bizarre business of owning, training and racing horses. It is very well researched and Carr’s sources are clearly noted which allows this factual novel to feel not only fascinating reading but authentic in nature.
At the heart of the narrative is the tragic licence suspension of champion jockey Charlie Wood in England during the late eighteen hundreds and a high court battle between Lord Durham and Sir George Chetwynd. This stems from Durham’s accusation of miss deeds by Charlie Wood and Chetwynd at a Gimcrack Club dinner in York. Most of the fatuous accusations could not be substantiated and even though both Wood and Chetwynd were exonerated Charlie Wood lost his jockey’s licence at the pleasure of the snooty Jockey Club which was a law unto itself! Perhaps that is why we call poor third world governments ‘Gimcrack’ even to this very day!
There was no length given for Wood’s suspension! Imagine, in a civilized country, for example being told one is going to jail and asking, “For how long?” Then being told, “For a long as we want you there!” We have certainly come a long way from the era of a class system that felt that a man, albeit from the poor side of Hull, was a servant to his master without recourse to simple justice and could never improve his station in life.
I won’t spoil the book for the reader but suffice it to say Charlie does get a delicious revenge on the autocratic Jockey Club. This is a not to be missed piece of writing that you will not be able put down for long! Enjoy, I did.
As a foot note and in the spirit openness . . . I declare that Charlie Wood’s great grandson Ian Wood is a friend of mine and he also races ‘horses,’ and many of them, in a vintage McLaren race car with much success and Ian’s son Hayden, being Charlie Woods great, great grandson, also races vintage horsepower, it does rather seem that:
‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!’
“This is not a standard book about racing. It’s a book of scandal and intrigue, homegrown heroes and villains, all set against a backdrop of the supposed genteel Victorian racing elite.
It is a unique exploration of social history. Following the journey of a low born boy from the slums of Hull who just wanted to be the best jockey, travelling via the prejudices of various members of the aristocracy and their attempts to destroy those they perceive to be getting beyond themselves.
The interweaving of factual chapters with the emotional buzz of the jockey’s return from banishment in the Derby race chapters gives the reader a sense of movement and pace, very appropriate for the biography of a jockey.”
Angela von Barnholt
“Everyone loves an underdog: Everyone that is except the Jockey Club and aristocracy of the day. Charles Wood was an illegitimate boy from the slums of Hull who became a Champion jockey and hugely wealthy in his own right: he was a threat to the class system of the 19th Century. Josephine Carr has unpicked his story and laid bare the facts.”
Nicky Collins
"No less an authority on racing history - Sir Mark Prescott - gives the book the thumbs up and its hard to disagree with the Baronet's verdict."
— RACING AHEAD