Publisher's Synopsis
Before Mania, before TV, before there was even a ring, there was wrestling.It was the 1880s, and from the circus to the bar to the opera house, wrestling was already a spectacle. In this new collection of short stories, you'll journey back to a simpler time when wrestling breathed new excitement into a nation healing from war. Discover a world where the wrestling mat first offered men a chance to obtain fortune and glory. Witness the courage of a former slave fighting to make his own name and the passion of a daring young woman in her fight for equality. Experience the heroism of these pioneer athletes, bound by more than blood, and the villainy of those greedy enough to profit from an unsuspecting public.Pro wrestling historian and award-winning writer John Cosper takes you back to the earliest days of the sport, capturing the spirit of a bygone era. Inspired by the real life tales of the men and women who laid the roots of professional wrestling, Grappling by Gaslight is a page turning thrill-ride straight from the old school carnival midway.
