This book brings together Dorothy Thompson's most important essays on English social history, written over the last 25 years, many previously unpublished. Thompson analyzes the Chartist movement, not simply as a political programme, however significant, but as the mass phenomenon which offers the focus for an "elucidation of the concept of class". Thompson is also concerned with Queen Victoria: how did a woman holding the highest office in the land affect British women and was it a factor in the non-republican stance of radical politics of the time? The essays are complemented by an introduction in which Dorothy Thompson reflects on the politics of the period in which she wrote them, on her own political involvements and on the relationship of her work as a historian to that of her husband, E.P. Thompson. The book should make a useful introductory text for students of history. It includes Thompson's essays on women's activism in early radical politics and 19th century popular politics. The book should also attract a wide general readership.

A collection of Dorothy Thompson's most important essays on English social history, written over the last 25 years. The book contains some previously unpublished work and includes essays on the Chartist movement and women's activism in early radical politics and 19th century popular politics.

About the Author
Dorothy Thompson (1923-2011) was a social historian, a leading expert on the Chartist movement, including The Chartists, Outsiders: Class, Gender and Nation and Queen Victoria.
Stephen Roberts is historian of Victorian Britain, with a particular interest in Chartism. He has written or edited a number of well-known books on this subject. He was taught, as both an undergraduate and postgraduate, by Dorothy Thompson. He is currently Visiting Research Fellow in Victorian History at Newman University, Birmingham.

Reviews
"The left's foremost cultural historian and critic ... an acute and perceptive political commentator."-Comment

"Williams is the Western thinker who, along with Antonio Gramsci, has done most to enlarge our understanding of the political complexities of culture."-Village Voice



Book Information
ISBN 9780860916505
Author Dorothy Thompson
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint Verso Books
Publisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 251g
Dimensions(mm) 218mm * 137mm * 15mm