ABSTRACT

First published in 1995. Chartism inspired a prodigious literary output, based on its own newspapers and journals. However, while some Chartist political writings have been reprinted, the aesthetic texts of the movement have largely been neglected. This selection of short stories and extracts from longer fiction aims to remedy this situation and covers a diversity of authors, genres and themes.

Ian Haywood has written a cogent and wide-ranging review of the Chartist movement and its literature as an introduction to this collection of little-known and revealing stories. The diction is divided into the following areas: the condition of England, Ireland, revolution, women and Chartism itself. This title will be of interest to students of history.

chapter |25 pages

Introduction

ByIan Haywood

chapter 1|7 pages

Will Harper: A Poor-Law Tale (1838)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 2|5 pages

The Widow and the Fatherless (1838)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 3|3 pages

The Convict (1839)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 4|5 pages

A Simple Story (1840)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 6|7 pages

“Merrie England” – No More! (1845)

ByThomas Cooper

chapter 7|18 pages

The Defender: An Irish Tale of 1797 (1840)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 8|15 pages

The Rebel Chief: A Scene in the Wicklow Mountains, 1803 (1840)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 9|5 pages

The Desmonds: A Tale of Landlordism in Ireland(1845)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 10|8 pages

The Meal-Mongers: Or, Food Riots in Ireland (1848)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 11|25 pages

From Dissuasive Warnings to the People on Street Warfare (1839)

ByAlexander Somerville

chapter 12|10 pages

The Revolutionist (1840)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 13|1 pages

The Insurgent Leader (1840)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 14|2 pages

The Maid of Warsaw, from The Romance of a People (1847)

ByErnest Jones

chapter 15|4 pages

Nationalism, from The Romance of a People (1847)

ByErnest Jones

chapter 17|4 pages

The Outcast (1839)

ByW. J. Linton

chapter 18|3 pages

The Free-Servant (1839)

ByW. J. Linton

chapter 19|5 pages

The Young Seamstress (1847)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 20|16 pages

The Slave of the Needle (1850)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 21|5 pages

The Poor Man's Wrongs (1839)

ByMary Hutton

chapter 22|4 pages

The Charter and the Land (1847)

ByIan Haywood

chapter 23|3 pages

The London Doorstep (A True Story) (1848)

ByErnest Jones