BOOK REVIEW


Duel By Paul Mathieu. Published by Write First Time. RRP £20.


the elopement of the Lady Florence Paget with the wild gambler and alcoholic, Harry Marquis of Hastings. The lady, who was known at the time as “The Pocket Venus” due to her famed beauty and size, was betrothed to the honourable gentleman, Henry Chaplin. Her elopement was a mystery to all and initiated a feud between the two men that spanned several years.


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The racing industry provided a platform upon which Chaplin fought to bring about Hastings’ ruin. Chaplin invested in expensive racehorses, including the well- known stallion Hermit, which he pitted against Hastings’ string of around 50 horses which were trained by John Day at Danebury. Eventually the conflict came to a climax in 1867 at the Epsom Derby, where Chaplin entered Hermit and Hastings entered the filly Lady Elizabeth. The race crowned one man victorious while the other effectively bankrupted, losing what would be


uel’ relays the story of one of the biggest scandals of the Victorian Era - that of


worth over 10 million in modern day money. The latter died the following year.


Although the story centres around Chaplin avenging the stealing of his fiancé, a large portion of the content focusses on the racing aspect of the scandal. Duel provides a thought-provoking representation of the dark world of horse racing in Victorian times, examining training methods, specific jockeys and racing proceedings in great detail. Mathieu also provides insight into the world of gambling, which Hastings exploited through illegal cockfighting, as well as creating a monopoly within the racing industry.


The hardback book contains 16 glossy pages of coloured photos and pieces of historical artwork showing the locations and characters mentioned, including a photo of Lady Florence Paget and an artistic representation of Harry Hastings as a spider among many fly victims. There is also a family


The photograph (left) of Harry Hastings shows him aged 19 in the uniform of a Leicestershire volunteers’ regiment. He quickly tired of the commitment and resigned his commission.


tree of the Day family, including John Day who trained the Marquis’ horses for six years, plus author’s notes and an extensive index. These remind the reader that Duel is not just a novel, but a well-researched case study on the corruption within the racing world during the Victorian era.


Donington Hall (above) was expensively converted to the Gothic Revival style by the fi rst Marquis of Hastings – with money he didn’t possess. His grandson Harry staged cock- fi ghts in the Hall’s chapel.


Hastings (right) at the time of his coming of age: he already looks like a victim-in- waiting, with his large cash inheritance and a rent roll equivalent to £1.6 million a year.


The Pocket Venus. The best-known picture of Lady Florence Paget was taken by the Society photographer Camille Silvy in 1860; the use of a mirror produces a double portrait. Florence was the beau ideal of mid-Victorian womanhood. Even a sister of the man she jilted – Henry Chaplin – described Florence as ‘the most beautiful woman I ever saw’.


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The marked difference in physical presence between Hastings and ‘Il Magnifi co’ Henry Chaplin is evident in the portrait of Chaplin, also aged 19.


Chaplin served as a Lincolnshire MP from 1868 until 1916. He is pictured (right) at the start of his long parliamentary career.


Chaplin inherited Blankney Hall (below) and £3½ million a year from a childless uncle


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As a racing historian, Mathieu has made a name for himself by exploring the industry’s past. His other titles are: Beckhampton, the story of how a coaching inn transformed into one of Britain’s greatest racing stables; The Masters of Manton, which is about the four training legends of the Manton racing yard and The Druid’s Lodge Confederacy, about five gamblers who worked together to build a fortune through racing. As his fourth text, Duel is a well-informed and captivating book which is a must have for horse racing enthusiasts, those with an interest in Victorian Society and fans of revenge narratives alike.


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Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash


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