"Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies" by Colonel Monstery, ed. by Ben Miller. A Review
Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies: A Nineteenth-Century Treatise on Boxing, Kicking, Grappling, and Fencing with the Cane and Quarterstaff by Thomas Hoyer Monstery My rating: 4 of 5 stars There it was, that dashing bar-fight scene where Sherlock Holmes (played by Jeremy Brett) fights Mr. Woodley as a gentleman. The scuffle ends with victory for Mr. Holmes, the prostration of Mr. Woodley and the applause of the pub patrons. The fighting style looks odd when compared to more modern versions of Sherlock Holmes, but there is a historical twinge to the scene. In the 19th Century England and America there were men putting themselves forward as experts in self-defense, some of whom had personal experience. On U.S. soil Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery was one of these. From December 1877 to January 1879 Monstery wrote several articles on self-defense in the New York magazine "The Spirit of the Times". These articles have been reclaimed, re-collected and republished in the 216 p...
