''Rodney Stone'' is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

mystery and boxing novel by Scottish writer Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

first published in 1896. The eponymous narrator is a

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

country boy who is the son of a sailor and wishes to go to sea himself. He is taken to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by his uncle Sir Charles Tregellis, a highly respected gentleman and arbiter of fashion who is on familiar terms with the most important people of Great Britain. The novel interweaves Rodney's coming-of-age story with that of his friend Boy Jim's boxing endeavours. Jim has been brought up by a blacksmith whom he believes to be his uncle - the blacksmith Harrison was a famous former boxer and the 'nephew' wishes to fight too. A large portion of it deals with the famous

bare-knuckle boxers Bare-knuckle means without gloves, bandages or any other protection for and/or dangerous 'arming' (such as a knuckle-duster) of the knuckles, a larger part or even the whole hand. It refers specifically to: * Bare-knuckle boxing, boxing without bo ...

of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, such as

Jem Belcher James Belcher, also known as Jem Belcher (15 April 1781 – 30 July 1811), was an English bare-knuckle prize-fighter and Champion of All England 1800–1805. Early life Belcher was born at his father's house in St. James's churchyard, Bri ...

John Jackson John or Johnny Jackson may refer to: Entertainment Art * John Baptist Jackson (1701–1780), British artist * John Jackson (painter) (1778–1831), British painter * John Jackson (engraver) (1801–1848), English wood engraver * John Richardson ...

Daniel Mendoza Daniel Mendoza (5 July 1764 – 3 September 1836) (often known as Dan Mendoza) was an English prizefighter, who became the 18th boxing champion of England from 1792–1795. He was of Sephardic or Portuguese Jewish descent.''The Jewish Boxer's ...

Dutch Sam Samuel Elias, better known as Dutch Sam (4 April 1775 in Petticoat Lane, London – 3 July 1816), was a professional boxing pioneer and was active between the years 1801 and 1814. Known as the hardest hitter of his era, he earned the nickname "T ...

, and others. The book includes vignettes of a number of historical personages, notably the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

Lord Nelson Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British people, British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strate ...

Sir John Lade Sir John Lade, 2nd Baronet (1 August 1759 – 10 February 1838) was a prominent member of Regency society, notable as an owner and breeder of racehorses, as an accomplished driver, associated with Samuel Johnson's circle, and one of George ...

, Lord Cochrane and

Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...

. There are also descriptions of thuggery, of gambling and cheating, and of dangerous horse-drawn chases. It was adapted into a 1913 silent film, '' The House of Temperley'', directed by

Harold M. Shaw Harold Marvin Shaw (also cited in some records as Henry Marvin Shaw; November 3, 1877January 30, 1926) was an American stage performer, film actor, screenwriter, and notable director of the silent era. A native of Tennessee, he worked professio ...

. The novel was dramatised as a four-part serial on BBC Radio 4 in 1983, which was repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra in March 2020 and June 2022. Available online via BBC Sounds.

External links

''Rodney Stone'' at FreeBookHouse
1896 British novels Scottish novels Novels by Arthur Conan Doyle Novels set in Sussex Novels set in London Novels about boxing Cultural depictions of George IV Cultural depictions of Horatio Nelson Cultural depictions of Beau Brummell {{1890s-novel-stub