The Leveller Revolution : Radical Political Organisation in England, 1640-1650 / John Rees.

Author
Rees, John, 1957- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
London : Verso, 2016.
Description
xxi, 490 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks DA405 .R429 2016 Browse related items Request

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    Summary note
    This book tells the gripping story of the Levellers, the radical movement at the heart of the English Revolution. The Levellers, formed out of the explosive tumult of the 1640s and the battlefields of the Civil War, are central figures in the history of democracy. In this thrilling narrative, John Rees brings to life the men -- including John Lilburne, Richard Overton and Thomas Rainsborough -- and women who ensured victory and became an inspiration to republicans of many nations. From the raucous streets of London and the clattering printers' workshops that stoked the uprising, to the rank and file of the New Model Army and the furious Putney debates where the Levellers argued with Oliver Cromwell for the future of English democracy, this story reasserts the revolutionary nature of the 1642-51 wars and the role of ordinary people in this pivotal moment in history. In particular Rees places the Levellers at the centre of the debates of 1647 when the nation was gripped by the question of what to do with the defeated Charles I. Without the Levellers and Agitators' fortitude and well-organised opposition history may have avoided the regicide and missed its revolutionary moment. The legacy of the Levellers can be seen in the modern struggles for freedom and democracy across the world. - Publisher.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-470) and index.
    Contents
    • "The maddest Christmas that ever I saw"
    • The first Leveller, John Lilburne
    • London, the great Leveller
    • Levelling by print
    • Civil War
    • The war, the church and the state
    • The coming of the Levellers
    • Petitions and prison
    • Agitators
    • Putney Church and Corkbush Field
    • Counterrevolution
    • Revolution
    • Defeat in victory
    • Lieutenant Colonel John Rede's last stand
    • The Levellers and the English Revolution.
    ISBN
    • 9781784783884 ((hardback ; : alk. paper))
    • 1784783889 ((hardback ; : alk. paper))
    • 9781784783891 ((paperback))
    • 1784783897 ((paperback))
    LCCN
    2016039447
    OCLC
    958469760
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