The Gordon Riots: Politics, Culture and Insurrection in Late Eighteenth-Century Britain

by Ian Haywood (Editor), John Seed (Editor)

The Gordon riots of June 1780 were the most devastating outbreak of urban violence in British history. For almost a week large parts of central London were ablaze, prisons were destroyed and the Bank of England attacked. Hundreds of rioters were shot dead by troops and for many observers it seemed that England was on the verge of a revolution. The first scholarly study in a generation, this book brings together leading scholars from historical and literary studies to provide new perspectives on these momentous events. The essays include new archival work on the religious, political and international contexts of the riots and new interpretations of contemporary literary and artistic sources. For too long the significance of the Gordon riots has been overshadowed by the impact of the French revolution on British society and culture: this book restores the riots to their central position in late eighteenth-century Britain.

Genres: London

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Annm]

Very informative about that time in history.

[Peter Dunn]

Always meant to get around to obtaining a better understanding of the Gordon Riots, and Lord George Gordon, and this collection of essays and short biography of Gordon certainly filled that knowledge gap. It also introduced a range of interesting angles that I had not considered.
There is but one duff article which stretches its central premise far beyond the two pages that would have probably sufficed. Indeed its central idea was summed it up in around a couple of paragraphs in more than one of the other excellent articles in this book … but I will leave you to work out which article I mean….

[Lindsey Ilsley]

A rich and engaging study laying out the ins and outs of a riot time almost buried. Thankfully academic writing is bringing this informing event to light once again that we may grasp a better understanding of what the people of the period felt and how they were inclined to respond given the opportunity. Wholly recommended for any student of the Georgian era wishing to absorb the feelings on the street and examine the tensions pulling between class and societal divisions.

[K. G. Whitehurst]

It's a book of essays upon the causes of the Gordon Riots, the Riots themselves and legal, political, social, and gender consequences of those Riots. As per usual, the whole is uneven. Several of the articles are brilliant; some inconsequential. The book's audience is for the specialist, but the general educated audience has not been shut out by jargon or arcane subject matter--two articles come close to violating that last point.