Peterloo ― The Story of the Manchester Massacre

The story of a defining moment in the history of Britishdemocracy: the horrific Peterloo massacre of 1819.On a hot late summer's day, a crowd of 60,000 gathered inSt Peter's Field. They came from all over Lancashire –ordinary working-class men, women and children – walkingto the sound of hymns and folk songs, wearing their bestclothes and holding silk banners aloft. Their mood washappy, their purpose wholly serious: to demand fundamentalreform of a corrupt electoral system.By the end of the day fifteen people, including two womenand a child, were dead or dying and 650 injured, hackeddown by drunken yeomanry after local magistrates panickedat the size of the crowd. Four years after defeating the'tyrant' Bonaparte at Waterloo, the British state had turnedits forces against its own people as they peaceablyexercised their time-honoured liberties. As well as describingthe events of 16 August in shattering detail, JacquelineRiding evokes the febrile state of England in the late 1810s,paints a memorable portrait of the reform movement and itscharismatic leaders, and assesses the political legacy of themassacre to the present day.

Jacqueline Riding is the author of Jacobites: A New Historyof the '45 Rebellion. She is a consultant for museums,galleries and historic buildings, and a historical adviser onfeature films, including Mike Leigh's 2019 film 'Peterloo'.