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James Stafford

@jpstafford.bsky.social

1.7K followers 460 following 1.9K posts

Author of 'The Sorrowful Putto of Prague', 'Unbelievable Underdogs', the 'Illustrated History of Rugby' series, 'How Wales Beat the Mighty All Blacks', 'Ragby' (Czech), editor of the East Terrace (theeastterrace.com). #booksky Prague based. Welsh born.

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 22d

🚨 NEW BOOK INCOMING! 🚨

My new children's book 'Wonderful Welsh Sporting Heroes' is almost ready to go to print.

Here's a little sneak preview of the cover art. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I'll be posting more details in the coming days...so stay tuned.
@ylolfa.bsky.social

🔵📚 #booksky #WritingCommunity #KidLit

A sneak preview of the cover art of James Stafford's new children's book. It features Alun Wyn Jones (rugby), Gareth Bale and Jess Fishlock (football), Colin Jackson (athletics) and Tanni-Grey Thompson (wheelchair racing).

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 4h

Writing night. #writing

James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 18h

Not a Victorian boxer, @oispooky.bsky.social, but Jimmy Wilde has one hell of a story!

I'd argue the 'Ghost with the Hammer in His Hand' is possibly boxing's best nickname too.

Reposted by James Stafford

James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

One of my favourite bios in my book is on the legendary Jimmy Wilde aka 'The Mighty Atom' or 'The Ghost with the Hammer in His Hand'.

Hailing from Merthyr Tydfil, 'The Tylorstown Terror' has one of the most incredible stories in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 sport. He is still considered one of the best punchers ever. 🥊📚

Illustration of the boxer Jimmy Wilde from James Stafford's new book 'Wonderful Welsh Sporting Heroes'.

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

We can blame you then for the financial state Welsh rugby is in.

Buying a real jersey could have saved everyone.

Shame on you.

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

I consider the Cymru thing. But eventually came to the fake conclusion.

James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

'I raised a family in times of austerity with sweat at the foundry, between the wars...'

Billy Bragg 40 years ago with 'Between the Wars'.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjUA...

Billy Bragg - Between The Wars

YouTube video by Doug Tilley

www.youtube.com

James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

Arwel Thomas 1997 punch gets 1997 commentary. #rugbyhistory

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJbU...

Arwel Thomas KO punch on Philippe Carbonneau

YouTube video by Ruddy Darter

www.youtube.com

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks! One of the best sporting nicknames ever. If not the best.

Reposted by James Stafford

Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 2d

I'm writing this book partly, mostly, for readers who aren't already into boxing 🥊

The Devil's Dance Floor is about pugilists, pressmen, policemen, and Alf Ball's pet puma. Murder, madness, Jem Smith's tight tights. We got wives. Bald bears. A Victorian epidemic of discarded orange peel! Smallpox!

Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 2d

Seconds out! Round one!

THE DEVIL'S DANCE FLOOR

This isn't an official announcement from Duckworth. It's a page from my agent's newsletter and book fair rights catalogue, which is public. So, a tiny-text soft launch? Details subject to change.

A lot of thank yous and less Disney, to come.

🐻🥊👊🏾👊🏻🦁🍺

Page from literary agency Curious Minds rights guide for Frankfurt Book Fair etc. Alongside a photo of me looking slightly drunk and a lot hostile, it says, in tiny font:

NEW DEALS
AGENT - Eli Keren
PUBLISHER - Duckworth
PUBLICATION - Spring 2027
STATUS - Manuscript due April 2026
LENGTH - 80,000 words
RIGHTS SOLD
World English (Duckworth)
The Devil’s Dance Floor
Late-Victorian London and the Last Bareknuckle Boys
SARAH ELIZABETH COX
An 1880s’ group biography of the last of Britain’s
bareknuckle boxers from the historical consultant behind
A Thousand Blows (Disney+/Hulu)
THE DEVIL’S DANCE FLOOR is the first popular book from Sarah Elizabeth Cox,
the historical consultant behind Steven Knight’s television series A Thousand Blows
and author of the historical blog ‘Grappling with History’.
A group biography of Victorian boxers, THE DEVIL’S DANCE FLOOR is a cultural
history that does far more than recount the true story behind the fictionalized
version now streaming. Taking a narrative approach, Cox charts the decline of
bareknuckle boxing over the 1880s, and, in doing so, explores subjects ranging
from policing and healthcare to the press and entertainment – all while offering a
personal-scale view of the melting point of Victorian London (think Hallie
Rubenhold’s The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper but
with a lot more getting punched in the face).
The subjects themselves hail from as far afield as London’s East End and the North
to the United States and the Caribbean. Each has a unique story to tell and reveals
something not only about our shared history but also about the world we live in
today.
Sarah Elizabeth Cox was a historical consultant on season one and two of Steven Knight's
1880s’ boxing and crime TV drama A Thousand Blows. She researches biographies of
Victorian and Edwardian boxers and wrestlers for her website ‘Grappling with History’ and
works as the British Science Association’…

1888 portrait of boxer Hezekiah Moscow, a slim Black or Black/East Asian mixed heritage man, taken by Harry Carpenter. He is shirtless, fists raised, wearing white tights and a chequered sash at the waist. There are painted palms on the studio backdrop.

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

Did you use some scary tech to look inside my head before you wrote this book? Because it is RIGHT up my street! Looks fantastic.

James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 1d

That logo is an official WRU one, which league wouldn't be able to use as it is copyrighted. So would be a fake*.

*Unless WRU has some leisurewear deal once with Puma for non match stuff. But no memory of that.

Chance it is some old 7s/Commonwealth Games kit. But can't find evidence of that.

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 2d

Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle (1872) by Arnold Böcklin. #arthistory

The painting Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle (1872) by Arnold Böcklin.

Reposted by James Stafford

Young Pete Toms @petetoms.bsky.social · 2d

Yet again thinking about this Ditko cover which remains maybe the most relatable piece of art I’ve ever seen.

The cover of Haunted no. 3 where a titularly haunted guy is running toward the viewer saying, "Why? Why? Why? Why?" While a banner above him says, "You BETTER believe "THIS IS HOW IT IS." And there's a cemetery with a caped goblin and a ghost or something behind him.

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Reposted by James Stafford

THE LINE of BEST FIT @thelineofbestfit.com · 2d

Singer-songwriter Tori Amos announces her eighteenth studio album In Times of Dragons, due in spring 2026 alongside her largest UK/EU tour in ten years. buff.ly/QBgLMxs

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 2d

'Ukranians are coming here and stealing your pensions and robbing you on the street, etc'.

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 2d

Hoping this comes with a Twickenham playset too! #REDROSES #RWC2025

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 2d

For most of these guys? Personal enrichment and power.

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James Stafford @jpstafford.bsky.social · 2d

My new ‘Wonderful Welsh Sporting Heroes‘ is set to be released this month and it will be produced in English and Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 language editions.

Any help spreading the word on the book (especially to schools) is always appreciated
@ylolfa.bsky.social #writing #booksky

jpstafford.com/new-book-won...