Peterloo: The English Uprising - Hardcover

Poole, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198783469 ISBN 13: 9780198783466

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2019

Synopsis

On 16 August, 1819, at St Peter's Field, Manchester, armed cavalry attacked a peaceful rally of some 50,000 pro-democracy reformers. Under the eyes of the national press, 18 people were killed and some 700 injured, many of them by sabres, many of them women, some of them children.

The 'Peterloo massacre', the subject of a recent feature film and a major commemoration in 2019, is famous as the central episode in Edward Thompson's Making of the English Working Class. It also marked the rise of a new English radical populism as the British state, recently victorious at Waterloo, was challenged by a pro-democracy movement centred on the industrial north.

Why did the cavalry attack? Who ordered them in? What was the radical strategy? Why were there women on the platform, and why were they so ferociously attacked? Using an immense range of sources, and many new maps and illustrations, Robert Poole tells for the first time the full extraordinary story of Peterloo: the English Uprising.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Poole is Professor of History at the University of Central Lancashire and a Manchester-based historian and writer and historical consultant to the Peterloo commemoration programme, www.peterloo1819.co.uk. He is co-author of the graphic novel Peterloo: Witnesses to a Massacre (2019) and author of several historical books and articles in journals ranging from Past and Present to Technology and Culture.

Review

"[Poole's] description of the events on the actual day is gripping and deserves a wide readership ... His book [throws] light on exactly how the day's terrible events were allowed to happen." -- Nick Rennison, Daily Mail

"A major new history ... Poole is right when he argues that Peterloo should still make us angry." -- Daisy Hay, Financial Times

"Robert Poole gives a comprehensive overview of the country at the time. His description of the massacre is vivid and enthralling." -- Paul Donnelley, Express

"Peterloo: The English Uprising [...] is perhaps the definitive text on the event." -- Colin Drury, Independent

"One of the important features of Poole's account is to put place back at the centre of the story. His analysis is especially strong in exploring the specific local economies, cultures and employment of the areas around Manchester, home to so many of the casualties at Peterloo ... Striking characters emerge ... This is an impressive and engaging work of scholarship, and will be an authoritative point of reference on the topic ... the account Poole presents is vivid, attentive and detailed." -- Clare Griffiths, Times Literary Supplement

"Carefully researched, this is a comprehensive and clearly argued book which has much to tell us about social, economic and political conditions in the early 19th century." -- Andy Hedgecock, Morning Star

"[Peterloo] took place 200 years ago but still inspires an anger that is expressed brilliantly in a new history by Robert Poole ... Poole's history is the book those who protested at Peterloo - and those who continue to oppose the same vicious ruling class today - deserve." -- Judy Cox, Socialist Worker

"Robert Poole's book is, perhaps the best book ever written on [Peterloo]. It's well written, exhaustive and covers every aspect of the movement ... It is a masterpiece of historical writing and should be read, not just by those who want to understand Peterloo but by those who want to see how mass struggle was at the heart of the movements that won the rights we have today." -- Resolute Reader

"Robert Poole was immensely helpful to us with our preparation of our film 'Peterloo'. Now his encyclopaedic knowledge and deep understanding appears in what will become the definitive book on the subject." -- Mike Leigh, Director of Peterloo

"In this gripping and moving book Robert Poole gives us what will surely come to be seen as the definitive account of this never to be forgotten turning point in British political history." -- Michael Wood, Professor of Public History, University of Manchester

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0198783469
• ISBN 13: 9780198783466
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 480