The Edge of Revolution
The General Strike that Shook Britain
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The Edge of Revolution
Narrated by:
David Torrance
Buy Now for £15.10
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Narrated by:
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David Torrance
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By:
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David Torrance
Author of the critically acclaimed The Wild Men, David Torrance explores another tumultuous and era-defining moment in British political history.
On Tuesday 4 May 1926, two million workers downed tools in the only nationwide all-hands strike ever held in Britain. The General Strike had begun, and the country braced itself for what many believed was a moment akin to the Russian Revolution, which had shaken the world only a decade earlier. Industry was deprived of gas and electricity; the buses, trains and trams all stopped; newspapers ceased publication; and workers abandoned mines and iron, steel and chemical works around the country.
The General Strike has entered our national mythology. Even though it lasted only nine days, it left a legacy of bitterness that has had a profound impact on politics.
Now, a century on, Torrance tells this dramatic story from the perspective of everyone involved, drawing on extensive archival research to recreate those nine days through the accounts of those who lived and breathed it. The result is an absorbing and comprehensive analysis of this unique episode in British history.©2026 David Torrance (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Critic reviews
Compelling ... Vivid ... Fascinating
This is an eminently readable, even-handed and exhaustively researched account of a pivotal moment in modern Britain. It will be the definitive version for years to come, and may even restore the General Strike to its place in our collective consciousness.
Superb … The Edge of Revolution is told with equal verve and authority … Torrance has a superb conception both of the political figures and of the union men … Torrance has a deep understanding of the British temper (Simon Heffer)
Torrance’s account is balanced, solidly researched, and takes the story of the strike further beyond London than many similar histories manage
Magisterial (Kevin Maguire)
Torrance imaginatively recreates a turning point in the UK’s political and social history
Torrance really excels at vivid pen portraits that bring to life the central characters
David Torrance writes with verve and brio about one of the most dramatic events in modern British social, economic and political history. His book brings the events of the general strike alive for a modern readership, a hundred years after it occurred. (John Bew)
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