William Cobbett, the Press and Rural England

"William Cobbett, the Press and Rural England is a compelling and passionate narrative history of particular dramatic episodes in Cobbett's radical career that rather rare thing, an academic page-turner. This is not only because the episodes themselves were so extraordinary, and Cobbett's radical personality, as manifested in his writings, so powerful, but also because Grande writes with real fluency and passionate flair. It is also the case that, as well as an intriguing biography-in-episodes, the book is fully informed by both literary critical and Marxist historical research into Cobbett and early 19th century radicalism." Tim Fulford, De Montfort University, UK "Grande... sees borad coherence in Cobbett's career, and is as interested in continuity as he is in contradiction. Such an approach runs the risk of smoothing complexity too absolutely; he avoids this by rooting his argument in sensitive readings of Cobbett's private correspondence as well as his published work. The archival basis of the book allows Grande to chart the connections between Cobbett's disparate body of work in ways which are both imaginative and illuminating." Daisy Hay, Times Literary Supplement

William Cobbett, the Press and Rural England offers a thorough re-appraisal of William Cobbett (1763-1835), situating his journalism and rural radicalism in relation to contemporary political debates.William Cobbett, the Press and Rural England offers a thorough re-appraisal of William Cobbett (1763-1835), situating his journalism and rural radicalism in relation to contemporary political debates.