I recently came into possession of a book written by Thomas Cooper (1805-92), a famous Chartist activist, which he gave to his friend, the newspaper proprietor and fellow Chartist, John Cleave (1790-1847).
Thomas Cooper’s “Prison Rhyme” (1845)
The Politics of Victorian England’s “Vicious Republican”: G. W. M. Reynolds (1814–79)
“I only strive to arouse the grovelling spirit of the industrious millions to a sense of the wrongs under which they labour.”
The Flemish Revolt: Pierce Egan’s “Quintin Matsys” (1838)
Pierce Egan’s “Quintin Matsys” is like the Belgian “Les Miserables”; the people of Antwerp rise up and take to the barricades to overthrow the evil aristocrats who oppress them.
Mike Leigh’s “Peterloo” (2018)
Mike Leigh has produced a visually impressive movie, but the characters are a bit flat.
An English Republican’s View of Crime and its Causes
G. W. M. Reynolds, the “vicious republican” of the Victorian era, attributed the cause of all crime to the the existence of the royal family and the political establishment.
Available for preorder: “The Life and Legend of a Rebel Leader: Wat Tyler” (2018)
My book on Wat Tyler in medieval and post-medieval literature is now available for preorder on Amazon!
‘Robin Hood Should Bring Us John Ball’: The Outlaw in William Morris’ “A Dream of John Ball” (1886)
Robin Hood has always been an awkward socialist figure, but according to William Morris (1834-1896), he prepared the way for the radical preacher, John Ball (d.1381).
Society Gets the Criminals it Deserves: The Resurrection Man from G. W. M. Reynolds’ “The Mysteries of London” (1844-45)
What makes a person commit crime? How does a person become a hardened criminal? These are questions which we ask today and which the Victorians also asked of their society? This post examines G W M Reynolds’ answer to these questions.
The First Robin Hood Novel: Robert Southey’s “Harold, or the Castle of Morford” (1791)
Contrary to scholarly opinion, the first Robin Hood novel was not written in 1819 but in 1791.
The Peterloo Massacre & Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe” (1819)
Did the events of 16 August 1819 influence Walter Scott’s portrayal of Robin Hood?
My Forthcoming Book: “The Mob Reformer: The Life and Legend of Wat Tyler” (2018)
I have recently been contracted by a commercial publisher to write a popular history book entitled “The Mob Reformer: The Life and Legend of Wat Tyler” which is due for publication in 2018.
Radical Robin Hood: “Little John and Will Scarlet” (1865)
In 1865 the penny dreadul “Little John and Will Scarlet” appeared, full of ideas of democracy and egalitarianism.
G. W. M. Reynolds on Robin Hood
The “vicious republican” of the Victorian era on Robin Hood.
The Chartist Robin Hood: Thomas Miller’s “Royston Gower, or, The Days of King John” (1838)
In Thomas Miller’s novel ‘Royston Gower’ (1838), Robin Hood is portrayed as a medieval Chartist activist.
Wat Tyler: 18th- & 19th-Century Literary Afterlives
A brief look at Georgian and Victorian representations of Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
Radical Ideas in the Penny Serials of Pierce Egan the Younger (1814-1880)
The penny dreadful author that you’ve never heard of…