Book about Peterloo massacre to be published in August

Imagery from the Peterloo massacre

A new book about the Peterloo massacre will be published in August, a defining moment in political history that also had strong links with the many radical traditions across the borough of Rochdale.

Published to commemorate the 200th anniversary in 2019 and the subject of a soon-to-be released film by Mike Leigh, author Graham Phythian puts together eyewitness accounts, contemporary documents and intriguing details to bring to life the events of that terrible day. 

On 16 August 1819 on St Peter’s Field, Manchester, a peaceful demonstration of some 60,000 workers and reformers was brutally dispersed by sabre-wielding cavalry.

Many Middletonians were present at Peterloo, including one of the town’s most famous sons, writer and radical, Samuel Bamford.

The massacre saw 18 protestors killed and nearly 700 injured: within days the slaughter was named ‘Peter-loo’, as an ironic reference to the battleground of Waterloo.

In a world in which the legitimacy of facts is in constant jeopardy from media and authoritarian bias, the lessons to be learned from the bloodshed and the tyrannical aftermath are as pertinent today as they were two hundred years ago. Film director Mike Leigh has defined Peterloo as ‘the event that becomes more relevant with every new episode of our crazy times’.

The books will be available in shops from Monday 20 August 2018.