Restless Revolutionaries

From regicides to revolutionaries; from fascists to anarchists; from Tom Paine to Tom Wintringham, this book is a history of noble ideals and crushing failures in which Clive Bloom takes us on a journey through British history, exploring our often rocky relationship with the ruling elite. A History of Britain's Fight for a Republic reveals our surprising legacy of terrorism and revolution, reminding us that Britain has witnessed centuries of revolt. This is a history encompassing three bloody civil wars in Ireland, the bombing campaigns by the IRA, two Welsh uprisings, one Lowland Scottish civil war, uprisings in Derbyshire and Kent, five attempts to assassinate the entire cabinet and seize London, and numerous attempts to murder the royal family. This new and revised edition takes the story of modern monarchy back to its origins in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and forward to the reign of Charles III and includes the story of the continuing struggle for democratic rights and republican values from medieval times up to the present struggle for Scottish and Welsh independence.

Clive Bloom is Professor in Residence at the Larkin Centre for Poetry and Creative Writing at Hull University and also holds a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Western Timisoara, Romania. He was the historical consultant to the BBC and a number of national and international newspapers on the G20 disturbances and the 2011 riots in Britain. He is an occasional feature writer for The Financial Times, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Irish Times and the London Evening Standard, as well as being quoted in The Washington Post. He regularly appears on television and radio and he is quoted in The Columbia Book of World Quotations. He has also advised the British Cabinet Office on public disorder issues.