In 1381, a large army of people marched through the south-east of England to London, demanding an end to unfair taxation and threatening the rule of the boy-king, Richard II. During the eighteenth century, food riots, riots in protest at land enclosure, and riots targeting religious groups and foreigners regularly occurred. In the following century, mass gatherings demanded reform of the electoral system which allowed only a tiny proportion of the population to vote. In the early twentieth century, suffragettes chained themselves to railings, took part in huge demonstrations and endured prison sentences in pursuit of the vote for women. Recent decades have seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets of London and other cities to protest against the Iraq War and, in the last year, the war in Gaza.
The only power otherwise powerless people possess lies in their numbers. Riots and Rebels is an examination of how they have exercised that power over the centuries and how governments have reacted to it. From the so-called Peasants' Revolt to Just Stop Oil, via the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780, Luddites breaking machinery which threatened their livelihood, the infamous Peterloo Massacre of 1819, the Chartist demonstrations of the 1830s and 1840s, 1887's Bloody Sunday and many other, often violent events, Nick Rennison provides a concise, compelling account of popular protest in Britain.
Praise for Nick Rennison:
'Entertaining and thoroughly readable canter through the events of a century ago... Fascinating' - Observer
'A delightful book... Intelligent and lively' - Scotsman
'Hugely entertaining... often wryly amusing... plenty of light entertainment and colourful anecdote' - Mail on Sunday
'Rennison proves a chatty and amiable guide and offers an enjoyable and evocative ramble down memory lane' - Telegraph
'Fascinating and highly readable' - Daily Mail
By:
Nick Rennison
Imprint: Oldcastle Books Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 135mm,
ISBN: 9780857306074
ISBN 10: 0857306073
Pages: 210
Publication Date: 01 August 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Amongst the subjects covered will be: Medieval to Eighteenth Century - Peasants’ Revolt 1381 – Wat Tyler Pilgrimage of Grace 1536 Prayer Book Rebellion 1549 Gordon Riots 1780 Nineteenth Century - Luddites – machine-breaking Peterloo Massacre 1819 Strikes and riots in Scotland (Scottish Insurrection) 1820 Swing Riots 1830 Merthyr Rising 1831 Bristol Riots 1832 Tolpuddle Martyrs 1834 Rebecca Riots 1839-1843 Plug Plot Riots 1842 Chartism Bloody Sunday 1887 Matchgirls’ marches and strikes 1888 Dock strikes and marches 1889 Twentieth Century - Suffragettes Miners’ Strike 1910-11 Red Clydeside/Battle of George Square etc 1919-20 General Strike 1926 Invergordon Mutiny 1931 Battle of Cable Street 1936 – anti-Fascist, anti-Mosley Jarrow March Aldermaston March 1959 Grosvenor Square Peace March 1968 – anti-Vietnam War Northern Ireland Greenham Common 1981 Miners’ Strike 1984-5 Poll Tax Twenty-First Century - Stop the War – anti-Iraq War Anti-lockdown protests Black Lives Matter – anti-racism protests Gaza War protests Just Stop Oil Extinction Rebellion
Nick Rennison is a writer, editor and bookseller with a particular interest in the Victorian era and in crime fiction. He is the editor of six anthologies of short stories for No Exit Press, plus A Short History of Polar Exploration, Peter Mark Roget: A Biography, Freud and Psychoanalysis, Robin Hood: Myth, History & Culture and Bohemian London, published by Oldcastle Books. He is a regular reviewer for both The Sunday Times and BBC History Magazine.
Reviews for Riots and Rebels: A Pocket Essential History of Popular Protest in Britain, 1381-2026
Highly accessible... Throughout this engaging book, Rennison keeps a sharp eye out for themes and patterns that repeat across the centuries * Daily Mail * The narrative trail is clear, concise and enjoyable, an intriguing read that might leave you hungry for more * Crime Time UK *
