No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies and Travellers

The shocking poignant story of eviction, expulsion, and the hard-scrabble fight for a home

They are reviled. For centuries the Roma have wandered Europe; during the Holocaust half a million were killed. After World War II and during the Troubles, a wave of Irish Travellers moved to England to make a better, safer life. They found places to settle down – but then, as Occupy was taking over Wall Street and London, the vocal Dale Farm community in Essex was evicted from their land. Many did not leave quietly; they put up a legal and at times physical fight.

Award-winning journalist Katharine Quarmby takes us into the heat of the battle, following the Sheridan, McCarthy, Burton and Townsley families before and after the eviction, from Dale Farm to Meriden and other trouble spots. Based on exclusive access over the course of seven years and rich historical research, No Place to Call Home is a stunning narrative of long-sought justice.

Katharine Quarmby’s journalism has appeared in The Economist, Private Eye, The Times, the Mail on Sunday and the Guardian, among other publications. She has been a finalist for the prestigious Paul Foot Prize and has produced films for BBC Newsnight and Panorama. Her first book, Scapegoat, on hate crimes against disabled people, won the AMIA International Literature award. She lives in London.