The Peterloo Massacre torrent

The Peterloo Massacre - Joyce Marlow [epub]

This is a comprehensive and in-depth look at the political history but also the economic and social background to the events that took place on the 16th August 1819 at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, there after known by the epithet, The Peterloo Massacre.

Marlow is very good at scene setting and drawing sketches of the characters involved. The Peterloo Massacre encompasses a detailed reconstruction of the events that unfolded on the day but it is also a clear account of the build up and the aftermath. Marlow has a very readable style even when it comes to more complex issues.

Marlow opens her account by personalising the events of 16th August, relating the story of John Lees, a 22-year-old veteran of Waterloo. Cut down not by enemy fire or enemy blade but the sabre of a British soldier. In all, fifteen people died, hundreds were injured (the actual number of wounded is disputed). The event has been a call to arms for the left and a cultural reference point ever since.

Ebury Press May 2018