by Joanna Quinn
First published 2018
This collection brings together twenty contemporary authors who recreate pivotal moments in British resistance history. Each story places fictional characters within actual protest movements, from medieval peasant uprisings to modern anti-war demonstrations. Writers collaborated with historians, sociologists, and eyewitnesses to craft narratives that capture the street-level experience of social change. Sara Maitland explores the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Frank Cottrell-Boyce examines religious uprising under Venner. Michelle Green portrays the Suffragettes' fight for voting rights. Kit de Waal depicts Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick. Joanna Quinn chronicles the women of Greenham Common. The stories span six centuries of British dissent, covering the Diggers, Luddites, Welsh language activists, poll tax rioters, and Iraq War protesters. Each tale receives an afterword from academic experts who provided historical consultation. The collection argues that fiction can illuminate truth about social movements that shaped modern Britain.
Genres: historical-fiction, social-change, british-literature, activism
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, social-change
Setting: Britain, Greenham Common, Smethwick
Period: Medieval, 20th Century, 21st Century
464 pages · Paperback · Comma Press