Protest: Stories of Resistance

Whatever happened to British protest? For a nation that brought the world Chartism, the Suffragettes, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, and so many other grassroots social movements, Britain rarely celebrates its long, great tradition of people power. In this timely and evocative collection, twenty authors have assembled to re-imagine key moments of British protest, from the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 to the anti-Iraq War demo of 2003. Written in close consultation with historians, sociologists and eyewitnesses – who also contribute afterwords – these stories follow fictional characters caught up in real-life struggles, offering a streetlevel perspective on the noble art of resistance. In the age of fake news and post-truth politics this book fights fiction with (well researched, historically accurate) fiction. Featuring: Sara Maitland and Prof. Jane Whittle on THE PEASANT'S REVOLT Holly Pester and Dr. Steve Hindle on THE MIDLANDS RISING Matthew Holness and Dr. John Rees and Prof. Mark Stoyle on THE DIGGERS Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Dr. Ariel Hessayon on VENNER'S RISING Andy Hedgecock and Dr. Kartina Navickas on THE PENTRICH LUDDITES Laura Hird and Dr. Gordon Pentland on the RADICAL WAR Michelle Green and Elizabeth Crawford on THE SUFFRAGETTES Sandra Alland and Dr Francis Salt on the NATIONAL BLIND MARCH Stuart Evers and Dr Michael Randle on the ALDERMASTON MARCHES Kit de Waal and Avtar Jouhl on MALCOLM X in SMETHWICK Alexei Sayle and Rusell Hickman on the ANTI-VIETNAM WAR DEMO David and Stephen Constantine on the ANTI-RIVERS OF BLOOD MARCH Maggie Gee and Prof Sally Alexander on the NIGHT CLEANERS' STRIIKE Francesca Rhydderch and Ned Thomas on the WELSH LANGUAGE PROTESTS Jacob Ross and Prof. Stephen Reicher on the NEW CROSS FIRE & THE BRIXTON RIOTS Joanna Quinn and Lyn Barlow on GREENHAM COMMON Martyn Bedford and Prof. David Waddington on the BATTLE OF ORGREAVE Juliet Jacques and Dr. Em Temple-Malt on SECTION 28 Courttia Newland and Dr. John Drury on the POLL TAX RIOT Kate Clanchy and Prof. Laleh Khalili on the ANTI-IRAQ WAR DEMO This project has been supported by the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust and the Lipman-Miliband Trust, as well as Arts Council England.