Violent London: 2000 Years of Riots, Rebels and Revolts

The complex and fascinating nature of London has provided fertile ground for bestselling social histories by writers like Roy Porter and Peter Ackroyd. For the first time a book explores the capital's secret history - the underground world of radicals and subversives from Boudicca and Wat Tyler to the anti-globalization riots of the Chartists, Suffragettes, Mosleyites and IRA. Violent London is an account of political activism expressed in street fighting and slum warfare, assassinations and bombings. The main characters are demagogues and democrats, lunatics and libertarians, bigots and social revolutionaries. The story traces the growth of London as a capital adn as a major city, following the people who live, work, demonstrate, fight and die in its violent byways. With its strong characters and dramatic narrative, Violent London is a riveting examination of past and present conflict, revealing a hidden thread in London's living history.

Clive Bloom is Professor of English and American Studies, Middlesex University.