Captain Swing

The classic social history of the Great English Agricultural Uprising of 1830, from one of the greatest historians of our age. For generation upon generation, the English farm laborer lived in poverty and degradation. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, however, new forces came into play—and when capitalism swept from the cities into the countryside, tensions reached the breaking point. From 1830 on, a series of revolts, known as the “Swing,” shook England to its core. Here is the background of that upheaval, from its rise to its fall, and the people who tried to change their world. A masterpiece of British history.