{"title":"Books by John Rees","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781839763151","title":"The Fiery Spirits","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe thrilling history of Parliament’s ‘fiery spirits’, whose actions led to the defeat of Charles I in the English Civil War and paved the way for the execution of the King in 1649\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Fiery Spirits\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of the MPs in parliament and the protestors in the streets who played a pivotal role in the English Civil Wars. Through their stories, John Rees reveals the hidden history of the republicans who brought a desperate nation to the brink of revolution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the start of the English Civil Wars, very few could have imagined that the country would soon become a republic. Practically alone in his republicanism was Henry Marten, MP and future regicide. But he soon gathered around him a group of radical Parliamentarians that included William Strode, the parliamentary firebrand, Alexander Rigby, the formidable soldier, and Sir Peter Wentworth, descendant of a long line of opponents of monarchy. They formed the nucleus of a group that allied itself to a popular movement outside parliament to defeat the king politically and militarily.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Fiery Spirits\u003c\/i\u003e, Rees tells how Marten and his radical allies overcame both moderate Parliamentarians and Royalists to change the face of England forever, establishing a kingdom without a crown.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307979288949,"sku":"9781839763151","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839763151_c9327bb6-5fd2-43f1-943e-746520aee837.jpg?v=1786027808"},{"product_id":"the-leveller-revolution","title":"The Leveller Revolution","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe gripping story of the Levellers, the radical movement at the heart of the English Revolution\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487874326901,"sku":"9781784783891","price":30.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781784783891.jpg?v=1786355096"},{"product_id":"a-peoples-history-of-london","title":"A People's History of London","description":"In the eyes of Britain\u0026amp;rsquo;s heritage industry, London is the traditional home of empire, monarchy and power, an urban wonderland for the privileged, where the vast majority of Londoners feature only to applaud in the background.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet, for nearly 2000 years, the city has been a breeding ground for radical ideas, home to thinkers, heretics and rebels from John Wycliffe to Karl Marx. It has been the site of sometimes violent clashes that changed the course of history: the Levellers\u0026amp;rsquo; doomed struggle for liberty in the aftermath of the Civil War; the silk weavers, match girls and dockers who crusaded for workers\u0026amp;rsquo; rights; and the Battle of Cable Street, where East Enders took on Oswald Mosley\u0026amp;rsquo;s Black Shirts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA People\u0026amp;rsquo;s History of London\u003c\/i\u003e journeys to a city of pamphleteers, agitators, exiles and revolutionaries, where millions of people have struggled in obscurity to secure a better future.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490088264053,"sku":"9781836742579","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781836742579.jpg?v=1786441982"},{"product_id":"how-we-lost-america","title":"How We Lost America","description":"How We Lost America offers a fresh and compelling exploration of the events that led to the American War of Independence and the profound social and political transformations that followed in its wake.   Bringing together contributions from leading historians, this fascinating collection re-examines the ideas that shaped the revolutionary age, from the radical writings of British thinkers such as Thomas Paine to the enduring influence of British law on the Founding Fathers of the United States. The book also shines a light on lesser-known stories that challenge traditional narratives, including the women who fought to extend the principles of liberty and equality into democratic thought, and the experiences of Black British Loyalists who served in the British Army's Ethiopia Regiment.   Published to accompany the educational touring exhibition of the same name, this richly insightful volume offers a timely reappraisal of a pivotal moment in history and its lasting global legacy.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57503611224437,"sku":"9781068467493","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-john-rees.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}