Introduction

Edward Thompson has become one of the most important British Marxists of the twentieth century. In terms of theory, his contribution can be measured by the scale of his task to redefine a class struggle analysis which would be appropriate to the history of the British working class. Thompson's academic training as a historian and his participation in the Historians' Group of the Communist Party in the 1950s shaped what was to become an intellectual passion, the rewriting of history in order to "rescue" the agency of the working class. Thompson himself began his involvement with socialism by following in the footsteps of his brother Frank and joining the Communist Party in 1942. In addition to explaining the main aspects of Thompson's political thought, the chapter outlines the central theoretical questions in which Thompson was engaged. The general academic confusion has subsequently led to contradictory analyses of Thompson's understanding of historical materialism.