The English rebels

by Charles Poulsen

English Rebels

Genres: Politics, History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1984

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so 5 stars might just be a sign of the times but nevertheless this is a fine book all round. Poulsen was not a professional academic or historian but an Eastender, a lifelong Communist and a cabbie. And a teacher. Frankly he sounds like someone Iain Sinclair would have mentioned at some point. Cryptically.
More to the point, this is a clear and cogent history of how money, power, position and the people who revel in those things will treat those who don't possess them with staggering contempt in the main and will happily kill them stone dead on a regular basis. To say that most of the histories here have a contemporary resonance (in 2015) is inadequate.
Sigh.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is ironic. The movie, The Uprising comes out in theaters today. Author Charles Polson gives plenty of details about the real 1381 English peasant revolt over poll taxes used to pay for war. Tips for how important a good education is to avoid that particular failure. Of course, the wealthy who send their children to private schools today, don't see the value of high quality public schools. At least we have dedicated teachers and administrators willing to work without fair compensation. In 1381, school for the masses was outlawed.

[Ian Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of English social rebellions from the Medieval to earlier modern eras. From an indigenous viewpoint, with some bitterness and irony. The author was a Cockney Londoner apparently with connections to the pre-1960s Communist Party of Great Britain.