Seeds of Hope In ‘Resist: Stories of Uprising

We live in a golden era of protest. From the anti-gun rallies in the US, to the March of Return demos in Palestine, people are taking to the streets around the globe, standing up to governments that have fallen out of step with the popular mood. As Britain teeters over the brink of Brexit, it has never been more important to re-engage with its own long history of popular resistance.

Building on the success of Comma’s previous project, Protest, this anthology challenges 20 acclaimed authors to get under the skin of key moments of British protest, working closely with historians, crowd scientists, and activists. From Boudicea’s revolt against Roman occupation in 45 AD to the protests that followed the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, these stories reimagine each event through the eyes of the people involved, and take in every form of resistance – from the letter-writing campaigns of Caroline Norton (who single-handedly reformed child custody laws in the 19th century), to plots to overthrow governments, peaceful demos turned violent by bad policing, and all-out riots. Each story is followed by an afterword by the specialist who consulted on it, setting the event in a wider, historical context.