Edward Vallance

I have only read the chapters from French revolution to Chartism but I found it well written. The author explained the background well and had many interesting facts that I didn't know and sources I wasn't aware of. He never slipped into a tirade of polemic but backed up his arguments well. Even when I did not agree with his analysis I could see where he was coming from.

An entertaining book written with a good eye for the colourful anecdote and telling quote. It is, however, necessarily selective and this being so the author's sympathies are revealed. The Anti Corn Law League, one of the great radical movements in Britsh history, get barely a mention while the Suffragettes are discussed at tedious length.

A well written account of this crucial period in British history. In the foreword the author sets out the very differing views of the episode held both then and now and sets a course between them, not subscribing wholly to one or other of these camps. This makes for probably the most comprehensive and readable possible account of the complexities of this period.