I’m still working hard with a brilliant agent on the proposal for my ‘big history book’ – and we’re VERY nearly there and sending out to publishers soon. Thank you to everyone who has been in touch via BlueSky and email recently to inquire / nag about delays / discuss it with me. It’s so exciting to know there is interest. I can only apologise for how long this is taking me, but being a researcher with a full-time day job and a toddler means progress has been a little slower than I would have liked. It IS shaping up to be really positive though. More soon.
In the mean time, I had some good news last week when a chapter outline submission I made last year to an academic anthology of essays was accepted by its editors.
Amazons of the Arena: Essays on the History of Female Wrestling will be published in 2026, edited by David L. Chapman, Dr Conor Heffernan (Ulster University) and Dr Rachel Ozerkevich (University of Texas at Austin).
Their call for papers, published last year, explains a little more about the project:
This volume aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of women’s wrestling from its ancient origins to the contemporary era, exploring its impact on sport, gender, sociology, and popular culture. While recent media productions like Netflix’s GLOW (2017) and Queen of the Ring (2024) have brought renewed attention to women’s wrestling, scholarly examination of this field remains limited, particularly regarding its early history. This collection seeks to fill this gap by bringing together diverse perspectives on the historical development and cultural significance of women’s wrestling.
Recent Grappling With History research, my book proposal, and work on A Thousand Blows, of course, has seen me very much focus on 1880s boxing, particularly the East London ‘scene’. And that’s cool, it has taken me where it has taken me! But my research started in 2018 with wrestling, and I’m really happy to be able to keep at least one hand in that pot too.
My Amazons of the Arena chapter will be about 6ft 2, 252lb Edwardian wrestler Miss Juno May and her trainer, promotor, and maybe-husband, Antonio ‘The Terrible Greek’ Pierri. It will be based on research carried out for three blogs (and a Lewisham Ledger article) on Miss May over the past few years, but will go a bit further with discussion on the larger female body (taller, fatter, more muscular, or all three) in professional wrestling.
The press coverage of Miss May’s ‘terrific proportions’ when she debuted in 1906 makes for some shocking reading these days – especially when you’re a pushing-6ft woman like me! In my chapter we’ll be looking at how it compares to fan or commentary or media reception to other bigger-than-your-average female wrestlers decades later, through my great love Chyna’s era, and into modern day. The current clutch of jacked WWE ladies are giving me a bit of hope, but why was, and is, the bigger female body still something of an anomaly in an industry that was, and is, and probably always will be, full of freakishly massive blokes?
It’s really exciting to be published in a collection with some fantastic researchers in the physical culture, sports, entertainment, feminism (and lots more subjects) worlds, from lots of different countries across continents. I can’t wait to see what everyone else is writing on.
More on Miss Juno May:
Rediscovering the wrestlers and boxers of Late-Victorian London 
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