In the early 1840s, Britain was the gambling capital of Europe and racing a national obsession, with the Epsom Derby assuming the status of an unofficial national holiday, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators and many millions of pounds in wagers. It was a time of frenzied speculation, high stakes and low morals, when every ruse, subterfuge and fraud was practised - and the biggest sin was getting caught. But as the cheerfully unprincipled Regency era began to give way to the earnest and conspicuous high-mindedness of the Victorian period, reformers decided it was time to root out the canker gnawing at Britain. In the summer of 1844, the murky world of illegal gambling hells, crooked hazard tables and the dubious practices of the Turf were made the subject of a far-reaching Parliamentary Enquiry. When the Derby of the same year ended in chaos, with the two favourite horses doped and the result challenged by the Prime Minister's brother, the Turf's most dedicated follower and greatest tyrant Lord George Bentinck, took it upon himself to uncover the truth of what happened that day: following a trail of a evidence that led to one of the most sensational court cases of the 19th century. This is a story of men, money, gambling and sporting obsession; of rogues and rascals, subterfuge and chicanery, with duelling, suicide and murder thrown in. It is a tale of outrageous criminality, aristocratic complacency, and a gripping investigation to expose the most audacious sporting plot of the age. A compelling detective story peopled with low-life aristocrats, high-minded reformers, GENTLEMEN AND BLACKGUARDS paints a rich and vivid panorama of the full spectrum of early Victorian society, bringing to light an overlooked turning point in British history.

smartly told. an absorbing glimpse into the paddock where what we know as 'Victorianism' took its first tentative steps -- DJ Taylor FINANCIAL TIMES Foulkes manages in this book to be sports writer, crime writer and historian with equal facility. -- Nick Pitt SUNDAY TIMES utterly readable. Anyone remotely interested in racing will love this book -- John McEntee DAILY MAIL Foulkes whips up a colourful broad-brush portrait of a time when, in his own words, 'gentlemen condescended to race with, and be cheated by, blackguards' -- Miranda Seymour EVENING STANDARD The story of their audacious plot and the personalities who unmasked it is beautifully told -- Jamie Reid HOW TO SPEND IT, FINANCIAL TIMES Foulkes tells his essential story with brio and relish -- Nick Clee THE LADY a ripsnorting account of the beastliness that took place when inveterate, aristocratic gamblers tried to stitch up one another -- Dan Jones THE TIMES elegantly written, supremely entertaining -- Tim Barber CITY AM Compelling slice of social history forms backdrop to the most crooked race ever run THE RACING POST The Queen Mother would have adored Nick Foulkes' book... terribly engaging stuff SPEAR'S Foulkes's prose is a delight. He is the paladin of the bon mot and his book is exquisite. THE FIELD Foulkes' wonderful prose is not only fair; it is also elegant, erudite and - like this book itself - outstandingly entertaining. -- Catherine Nixey THE TABLET Foulkes has written a vivid account of the events surrounding the race that finally led to the sport being cleaned up - the 1844 Derby. THE OLDIE (An) impressively researched book...Foulkes weaves in a number of tangenital histories: the rise of the professional bookie; the history of Tattersall's horse market at the Hyde Park Corner...and the life of William Crockford, founder of the eponymous casino. -- Matthew Bell LITERARY REVIEW There are so many colourful characters in Nicholas Foulkes's GENTLEMEN AND BLACKGUARDS that Dickens would have spread them over six novels. **** -- David Robson MAIL ON SUNDAY Nicholas Foulkes' book is a carefully researched story of money, skulduggery and sporting obsession and will appeal to sportsman and historian alike. SHOOTING GAZETTE Nick Foulkes' colourful account of gambling in 19th-century England. -- Dylan Jones GQ Foulkes paints a flamboyant portrait of the society of the day and of a pivotal moment in British racing history GOOD BOOK GUIDE Herein is a rich assembly of underground rogues and aristocratic sporting men, set at the historical crossroads of the Georgian and Victorian eras -- Nick Pitt SUNDAY TIMES Foulkes is a master of the flashing phrase and crafts memorable vignettes of mainly disreputable characters but he is also a shrewd analyst of social change. In his assured telling, the story thunders along with the legs of a dead cert Derby winner -- Christopher Silvester DAILY EXPRESS

Formerly Associate Editor of the Evening Standard's ES magazine, Nicholas Foulkes writes regularly for the Financial Times, Country Life and the Mail on Sunday's 'Night and Day'.