Jon Mee explores the popular democratic movement that emerged in the London of the 1790s in response to the French Revolution. Central to the movement's achievement was the creation of an idea of 'the people' brought into being through print and publicity. Radical clubs rose and fell in the face of the hostile attentions of government. They were sustained by a faith in the press as a form of 'print magic', but confidence in the liberating potential of the printing press was interwoven with hard-headed deliberations over how best to animate and represent the people. Ideas of disinterested rational debate were thrown into the mix with coruscating satire, rousing songs, and republican toasts. Print personality became a vital interface between readers and print exploited by the cast of radicals returned to history in vivid detail by Print, Publicity, and Popular Radicalism in the 1790s. This title is also available as Open Access.
‘A fascinating and insightful look at a very dangerous time in British history, Mee’s excellent book also speaks directly to us in the early 21st century as radicals once more try to disrupt civilisation.’
Source: Sun News Austin (www.sunnewsaustin.com)
'… [this is] a book of very high quality, a cultural history both nourished by … deep research in archives and problematized by theoretical contributions through very fine micro-readings.'
Rémy Duthille Source: translated from Revue de la Société d’études anglo-américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles
Loading metrics...
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.
Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.